Good Morning Vietnam!

---

Days 1-4. Having an amazing time here in Vietnam after an eventful flight from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur. We were just about to take off and the plane was ordered back to base and surrounded by police. They then came on and took off a woman and child who were trying to leave the country illegally! Luckily the two hour delay did not stop me from missing my connection to Hanoi.

On day two we had a tour of Hanoi and enjoyed a visit to the "Hanoi Hilton" which is actually the prison. It was named the Hanoi Hilton by American prisoners of war. Originally built by the French to imprison Vietnamese who were against French rule it was then used by the Vietnamese during the American War. One famous inmate was John McCain the Republican 2008 candidate for the presidency. We then went to the Temple of Literature whose teachings are based on Conficious.

In the afternoon, apart from getting used to the traffic and risking life and limb to cross the road a few of us visited a pagoda and went for a drink at the Central Cafe View for a rooftop scene over Hanoi. It was fun just watching the hustle and bustle of life here and the amazing number of people and items that can fit on a scooter including a crate full of piglets! In the evening we enjoyed a dinner at restaurant Koto, a Jamie Oliver style 15 type restaurant for disadvantaged teenagers. The food was yummy but not too sure about the rat that we saw after we had eaten running about the restaurant!

Yesterday we had a four hour bus ride to Halong Bay a World Heritage Site. A wonderful cruise and overnight stay aboard and a trip to visit some famous caves. This morning we enjoyed a refreshing tropical rain storm before heading back to Hanoi and visiting Ho Chi Min's palace and seeing the one pillar pagoda. We have just bought our dinner before our overnight train ride to Hue where it is 35 degrees! Looking forward to some sun and hoping the train experience is better than in India! If anyone has tried to text me I have no mobile reception so apologies for not replying!

---