Advertisement
Published: December 4th 2005
Fun Day
See Mom, the clinic was clean!! Hi everyone! Just wanted to send out an update to let you all know that I don't have Malaria! After flying to Hanoi Tuesday night, I went straight to the clinic Wednesday and spent the day there getting better. I went in with my own diagnosis of a urinary tract infection, which happened to be correct, it was just way worse than I had expected. They hooked me up to an IV with antibiotics for a couple hours, did an ultrasound to rule out any kidney stones and then sent me on my way with a prescription for more anitbiotics. It's amazing how you don't really realize how bad you feel until you start to feel better. Everyone was so nice and it was an international clinic so language was never an issue. My first doctor was a woman so when I started crying, she was really nice to me. I just really missed mom and home that day, a lot! But, all is better now. I went today for a follow-up and Leslie and I off to Hue tonight! Between doctor visits, we were able to see some of the city sights and do a 2-day tour to Halong Bay.
Hoan Kiem Lake
Right in the middle of the Old Quarter of Hanoi is this lake. It's really pretty as the trees that line it all grow towards the water, so their branches are touching the lake. Halong Bay is about 3 hours from here and is home of 3000 islands. It's pretty spectacular and we picked a couple of good days to go as we even got a little sunshine. We got on the boat at noon and sailed out for a bit while eating lunch. We got to Hung Sung Sot Caves and WOW!!! I haven't seen many caves, but this one was awesome! The pics are on another camera, so you'll have to wait until we're home to see them. It was discovered in 1901 and opened as a tourist attraction in 1999. They have done a lot of work installing lights, pathways, etc. for tourism, which takes away a bit from the actual cave, but still, it was a sight to see. HUGE! Stalagmites and Stalactites everywhere!!! Did you know that it takes 150 years for a stalagmite to grow 1 inch????? Me neither!!!!
After the cave, we got back on the boat and had some free time for kayaking/swimming. Well, by now the sun was gone and it was cold so we didn't go into the water. A couple of guys did, but that's boys for you!!!! We had dinner
Halong Bay
3000 islands and I think we only saw 50 maybe! Not many of them are habitable as they are sheer cliff on all sides, but some are. on the boat, played some Yahtzee with a couple of girls from Holland that we met and then called it a night. We were looking forward to a nice, quiet night on the boat but instead got wood-eating worms and rats!!! WHY US??? I swear, these things ONLY happen to us! We could hear this chewing of wood and we thought rat (cause so many rats eat wood!!!) so I woke up our guide and he told me "No, that's just a wood-eating worm. You'll know it's a rat when you hear one." Ummm, OK. Yep, like that's supposed to make me feel better!! So, sure enough, after the worm got full and it was quiet, we did hear some rat footsteps and a squeak or 2!! Thing is with rats is that you never know exactly where they are. So, in went the earplugs and up went the covers and we actually got a little sleep.
The last day on the boat was spent just driving back to the harbour, which took a couple of hours. The sun was out again and I feel asleep, which left me with a pretty funny sunglasses tan! We had lunch and
Beautiful Sunset
Can't really describe it, so just enjoy it! returned to Hanoi around 5. Today, we booked an open-ended bus ticket, which gives you 5-6 stops between here and Ho Chi Minh City and you can get off when you'd like and just hop back on when you're ready to leave. It's pretty efficient and helps break up the journey. Our first leg tonight to Hue is 12 hours. We are planning to spend a few days travelling to HCM City, including 3-4 days in Nha Trang to get our diving certificate....so excited!!!!
Love you all very much and thanks for the emails.............keep 'em coming!
Melissa and Leslie xoxoxo
Advertisement
Tot: 0.11s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0846s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Michelle
non-member comment
thank goodness
Mellie, I'm so glad you are feeling better. I faithfully read your blog, but all the names of the places you are visiting are WAY over my head, but it sure sounds like fun! Say hello to Leslie for me, and keep up the good work with the journal entries and the pictures....love it! Miss you ~M