Hanoi/Vietnam

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Now it was time to check out North Vietnam. Hanoi was my favorite city of the 3. We stayed in the old quarter. It was chaotic, but beautiful with always something to see to grab my attention. Our cyclo driver took us all over the city checking out lakes, pagodas and musuems. I loved cruising around the city in the cyclo. We went out at night and 1 block from our hotel was a corner where they served beer for 12 cents glass. I stuck to the water which was more expensive. I loved sitting outside and playing with the other travellers and locals. Everybody in Hanoi (and the rest of Vietnam) wanted to hold me, and I went to them with open arms. After all, being held by just dad gets kinda boring.

We also did a day trip to the perfume pagoda. We took a 2 hour bus ride, then went on a 1 hour boat ride. It was very peaceful and I had a lot of fun. Then we arrived and took a gondala to the top of the mountain to reach the pagoda that was in a cave. I met a lot of cool people on this 1 day tour, incuding to Italians from Udine, close to where I was born. The boat ride back was especially fun as I was playing with people on my boat and my amici in the boat near us.

However, the higlight of Hanoi was the water puppet show. We went with a very nice New Zealand couple who had wine and dinner in our hotel room first. Dad didnt think I would last the whole 45 minutes watching, but I did, and I could have lasted a lot longer. It was awesome. Dad bought me a couple puppets to keep as souvenirs.

It was a great 2 1/2 weeks in Vietnam, but it was time to move on to our next country.

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Photos

Fun on the boat
On the way back from Perfume Pagoda

Tran Quoc Pagoda
Always smiling (okay, almost always)

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
Dad was not convinced the body was real

Le Pub
My favorite bar/restaurant. Lots of toys and employees to play with while dad had some beer/food.

Finding Nemo
This waitress let me play with the fish while waiting for the food.

Turtle/Stele
Temple of Literature

More Ice Cream
Before entering Ho's Museum

Mesmerized for 45 minutes
The Water Puppet Show

Temper Tantrum
One of only a few on the whole trip. I had to show my dad I was not perfect.

Bia Hoi
12 cent beers in the street. My bottled water was 4 time the price.

Books for sale
Dad made this kid real happy when he was trying to sell us a travel book, and dad gave him his for free.

Street Food
Yep, that's me in the back. Gotta love it!