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Published: March 3rd 2009
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On the afternoon of March 1, well fortified with bruskies, the oldsters struck out on our own!! Roger, again, used his negotiating skills to obtain a boat trip on the river, but lost his edge when he called the 30 year old woman, Mama. We enjoyed a beautiful, cool boat ride and had many opportunities to purchase wood carvings. For the first time, we resisted. Lack of space dictated NO PURCHASES, however we did enjoy watching a large river boat being built by hand. It was made of gumwood, which they bent to shape over a charcoal fire. At the conclusion of the boat ride, the boys thought they arrived in heaven. Ice cold pints of local beer were only 4000 Dong per glass. (40 cents). We returned to the old town for a very reasonable and delicious dinner. With beer, wine, and great food for 6, dinner came to about 320,000 Dong. ($32.00).
Morning put us “On the road again” by private mini bus (all that luggage!!!) to travel to Hue. On the way, we saw countryside that included rice patties, forested hills, and an amazing 7km long tunnel. Bob says, “Canadian Government please take note.” The tunnel looked extremely
well built and convenient for driving. Our driver stopped to let us take pictures of some children “working the tourists” on their water buffalo. We checked into a very nice hotel in Hue that had all the amenities that we now consider luxury. An elevator (all that luggage), face towels, absorbent towels, shower curtains, bath mat. WooHoo!! We had lunch in the LOVE CAFÉ, and Bob and Lynda got into the spirit of it.
We toured the Imperial Palace, Imperial City, and experience our first tropical downpour in an ABP (another bloody pagoda). After we dried off, Bill and Linh took us to a very out of the way, and authentic Hue restaurant. Our arrival caused much giggling and staring amongst the proprietors family. As the downpour continued, it appeared other customers had either already eaten or stayed home. Bill was thrilled that we were enjoying an authentic Vietnamese meal. The sound of the rain was amplified on the tin roof. We finished off the evening with a night cap.
We had a leisurely breakfast on the Morning of March 3, followed by a teary farewell which concluded our time with Bill and Linh. Another short flight brought the 4 of us back to Hanoi. We have seen most of Vietnam’s airports.
Bill and Linh made us reservations at a great little hotel located in the Old Quarter. It is very central by Hoan Kiem Lake, which is a busy and fun area to look out on. Tonight we will venture out to “The Best Pho” hole in the wall eatery in Vietnam. Mr. Tung had taken us there before our first train trip and we were actually able to find it again. Bill and Linh would be so proud of us.
We tried for hours, literally, to load more pictures on here, but to no avail. If it works tomorrow, we will put them on separately, if not, sorry about that. For now we will publish what we have.
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