Vietnam Tet 2013 part 4

During Tet in Vietnam, we usually stayed at home on the first day and we only visited relatives and friends from the second day onwards.

We visited our granny first on the second day and spent the rest of the day visiting other relatives. I took my time taking pictures with my camera, while my parents were busy talking with the elderly.

As a promise to my sisters, I took many pictures of them!

One of the sweetest surprise I would always remember was my best friend brought many seafood items to my parent's house and made an effort to cook up a storm in my mother's kitchen!

The dinner was a luxury, most importantly it was cooked by my dearest best friend!
I felt fortunate!  Thank you dear!

It's been so long since the last time I went to a relative get-together at my grandma's house! I was overwhelmed by the crowded gathering and  it's very heart warming seeing many familiar faces!  

After that, we continued visiting more relatives. We had good time talking and laughing while walking to the relatives' houses.

A new year with a new beginning! A wish for good health and prosperity to everyone!

Some street shots of my hometown in Vietnam. It has changed so much!

End of my post with some pictures of my mother's delicious home cooked food!


This trip brought me so many precious memories and I treasure all the moments that I shared with my loved ones!
I am grateful to have my family!

Vietnam Tet 2013 part 3

As a tradition, on the eve of Tet, we went to pay tribute to our ancestors in the morning!

After that we visited our grandmother's house nearby!

We stayed there for a while before rushing back home to prepare for the eve of Tet!

On the way home, we passed by the Lotus lake, I was astonished by the cleanliness of the lake! It's actually very near to my parent's house, just 5 minutes of walking distance.

Another tradition in Vietnam to welcome New Year is house cleaning. Baby Y Nhi accompanied me to do this task. Everyone else was also busy with their own tasks like cooking, preparing the altar table, setting up the New Year decorations...

Late at night, we all finally sat down and had our reunion dinner. All my favorite food!!! I missed these too much!!!

We stayed awake to wait for the fireworks around midnight! We were fortunate enough to be able to watch the fireworks from my parent's home. I'll always remember the moment, everyone was there, my parents, my sisters, my brother in-law...all of us looking at the sparkling sky and immersing ourselves in the sound of the fireworks!

I enjoyed the fireworks!!! It's nostalgic! Next year I want to come back home again!

Vietnam Tet 2013 part 2

When we reached home on the very first day, after hugging everyone, my heart ached when I saw my parents getting older...

"Welcome home! It's been too long!"...

Looking around the house, I was amazed by how much it changed! Slowly, I was back to my cheery mood, running up and down the grand staircase! I felt like a kid, happily exploring all the rooms!

I finally met my niece again after so many years. She has grown into a sweet little lady!!! She has good manners and very sensible! I like the way she talked, witty and polite, I couldn't believe she is only 3 and a half years old. I taught her to make a "peace" sign and a "dinosaur" sign and she could pose it very well!!! She is too adorable!!! I love it when I kissed her chubby cheeks she would always kiss me back spontaneously! Awwww!

I didn't forget to say "Hi" to the two dogs! The one in chains is actually a puppy and this was the first time we met! My parents gave it a funny name, "Con Dọn Bể" which mean Plecostomus, I laughed every time they mentioned that name, it's because of how he could finish his food quickly just by swallowing hence he grew so big after just a couple of months. The other one is "Cutie", he always remembered me and welcomed me whenever I'm back to Vietnam.

I was very excited to cuddle Marie, the fluffy Persian cat and all of her kittens!!! They are so gentle and super easy going! I miss playing "cat fishing" with them! 

Besides all the fluffy white cats, there was a Calico cat in the house! Her name is Mimi! She was quite shy the first time she saw me but she was quick to accept me and responded to me whenever I called her name. She liked to play and she is a very agile cat!

More cute shots of the cats!

Surprisingly all the cats love to come to our room! After I brought Marie, the mommy cat, to our room, all the other kittens followed her into our room, including Mimi.

My parents ensured us that all the cats are toilet trained, which was true! All of them slept in the bed with us and meowed whenever they want to get out!

Vietnam Tet 2013 part 1

We arrived in Vietnam just 2 days before Tet festival to celebrate the Tet Nguyen Dan, the Vietnamese New Year with my family.

 

On the way home, we drove past the bustling street market and I was so enthusiastic to snap pictures throughout the whole journey.

It's a tradition in Vietnam to have street markets before Tet, selling mainly plants like cherry blossoms and mandarin orange trees.

Also all sorts of Tet decorations.

And flowers!

As well as vegetables!!

This is such a nostalgic scene! A cherry blossom tree sitting on a richshaw! 

We often called this: "Carry Tet home!"

Another sweet scene that I liked very much!

That's all for my snap shots of street market before Tet! Enjoy!

I'm back from Vietnam

We've just come back from our holiday in Vietnam.

Right now I'm missing my family in Vietnam so much that Lg described me as being in an unstable emotional state!

We stayed in my parent's cozy home and they have Wi-Fi! Unfortunately, I just didn't have the time to sit down and blog.

My parents have 6 cats and 2 dogs, they are very cute!!! I like to play with them and take photos of them!!! I miss Xiao Bai very much when travelling, but... I miss other pets when I have to leave them too! So complicated!

I had spent a lot of quality time with my family and I super enjoy my mother's home cooked food! She cooks fantastic Vietnamese dishes that no one else can ever compare to! I've also learnt a lot on this trip, I could see and feel so much love from everyone towards us. Writing this made me tear... In fact, I cried a lot on this trip! Those are happy tears!

My mother is my one and only person that I love to death! The kindest and the most beautiful soul! I'm glad we had many moments to talk and share our views, I get to understand her more like a friend. I need to learn more from her!

Everytime I come back to Vietnam, my mother made sure I carry back to Singapore all my favourite food that she prepared. She even helped me to pack my luggage full of food! I can never match her level of consideration and caring!

I love to collect sweet memories and on this trip I have plenty! Love and miss everyone in Vietnam very much!

Lighten brown spots naturally

I have brown spots on my cheeks, due to my frequent sun exposure. The only way to get rid of them is laser treatment and it's expensive! But there's so many ways to lighten the spots naturally! I've been using aloe vera and it's very effective!

Wash the fresh aloe vera then cut a small portion, keep the remainder in a dry place for the next use.

Trim off the edges to take the aloe vera flesh and apply the juice onto the face daily, it helps lighten sun spots and give the skin a dewy look!

Be patient and don't expect the results to happen instantly, but over time you can see the improvements!

Always remember to use sunscreen and wear UV cut clothing to protect yourself from the sun.


There's another way to prevent brown spots that I'm about to share on my blog. Brown spots, is also known as sun spots or liver spots, besides the sun exposure reason, brown spots also appear due to some deficiencies of the liver. The liver helps filter the blood and is responsible for getting rid of toxins from the body. If the liver is not doing its job, it'll result in brown spots.

Is there any way to cleanse the liver? Naturally?

Yes, there is! A healthy and natural way to detox your liver is to add sesame to your diet!

Oh, I love sesame paste! Yums!