Hanoi

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Uncle Ho territory

New day, new city to explore. Keen to get to halong bay as quickly as possible we combined a walking tour of the city with hunting for a live-aboard boat trip. Hanoi has a charm and character all of its own, and the Old Quarter really lived up to its name. Crazy architecture that was more french than Asian with funky little shops selling mostly artisan goodies, street hawkers, and loads of colour everywhere. It still had the crazy traffic of a thousand scooters per square inch, and crossing the road required skill and speed and quite frankly some balls!!

We made a quick circuit of the central lake, which was the chosen spot for newly weds to have their wedding photos shot. Every tree and lookout point had beautiful couples dressed in whiite smiling and posing for the camera, It wasn't long before we found a breezy spot in a rooftop bar for a much needed cool beer. We continued our tour (via KFC) asking every travel agent we could find about halong bay cruises. Prices varied wildly, by as much as $400! Not to worry though,
Guy was on top bargaining form and he managed to knock a third off the price for our two day three night 'cruise'. Booked for the following day we decided to make the most of our last night and found not only 'homemade beer' but also a fabulous diy BBQ restaurant. We were given a small hotplate and a massive pile of tasty beef strips, onions and veggies. Once we had grilled our meat to perfection we dipped it into a heady mixture of chili lime juice and sugar, before slurping it down...delicious!

Next up Guy and I fueled by the local beer headed off in search of somewhere to dance, Annie and Ling sensibly retired early ready for our big day tomorrow.
We found a couple of sweaty, pumping nightclubs, some where the cool trendy locals hung out, and some where drunken sweaty tourists go...we stayed with the sweaty bunch dancing and chatting well into the night. (One in particular - Daz Club, was a soundproofed room at the back of a quiet pub. Complete with green lazers, DJ's on decks and massive sound, Guy was in his element)
The walk back was rather challenging, not only due to the alcohol in our systems, but there was no street lighting whatsoever!!! Once familiar streets were now almost unrecognisable, and growling dogs were everywhere.... but finally we made it, and with spinning heads passed out only an hour or two before we needed to be up to catch our boat!.....

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Comments

[Paul]

what no photos of guy ravin?
what no photos of guy ravin?