Advertisement
Published: December 7th 2005
It's hard to know where to begin. The last two days have been a complete sensory overload.
First I'd like to say big ups to the Eva Air pilots for providing some of the smoothest take offs and landings in aviation history (and also for not crashing the planes). Thanks guys!
Hanoi is nothing short of amazing. It's chaos at its finest. For those that think that Vietnamese drivers don't have skill - you are mistaken. They are certainly some of the most skilled drivers I've seen. It is hard to tell which is more thrilling - attempting to cross the street or driving in the taxi's. It's maddening but it works. The fumes are a bit much to take though. Enjoy the fresh air you have!
Ayron and I went for a tour in the country side today. We drove about an hour and a half outside of the city to the town of Tam Coc. We then went for a small bike ride and a tour up river on a sanpan through limestone mountains and even under one of them through a cave to visit a small place of worship. After our boatride we had lunch - Ayron tried the town specialty - goat. Then it was a two hour bike ride through some rural communities to the old capital. An hour and a half bumpy bus ride landed us back in Hanoi. There is much more of this story to tell but my brain is totally on overload at the moment.
Tomorrow we check in with the team, weigh in is the next day and competition on the following day.
We have made a number of observations about the Vietnamese people and we'll certainly go into detail once my brain is functioning again. The most prevelant of which is their remarkable sense of identity - despite a procession of foreigners that have tried to impose their own vision on Vietnam.
Love to all. Pictures will follow.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0507s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Tony C
non-member comment
Good Luck Team!
Hey Ayron and Team, Just wanted to pass on some good vibes for the start of your tournament. I know all of your hard training will pay off. I must say the gym is a lot quieter without you here on Tues/Thurs evenings! I hope to read about your successes in the days to come. Tony