Hanoi

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Hanoi is still a bustling area but is a nicer city than HCM. The streets are narrower but our hotel was much nicer - I stole the double bed - Neil got the single. Helps being a dominant female and Neil's much too nice to argue with me haha. We roamed the city - I paid a STUPID amount of money for some paintings - it was expensive at the price she quoted me (I have later discovered) let alone the fact that in my ignorance I gave her the wrong note... 500,000 VND instead of 50,000 in Aussie dollars that's about 28 compared to $3. Needless to say she didn't inform me of my mistake. I will hope that she put it to good use. It was bitterly cold walking around Hanoi but we stopped and ate at a roadside café where the food was so delicious!

Monday we did a tour to the Perfume Pagoda - 2 hour bus ride and then hop on a boat that takes you up the river (6 ppl) with 1 Vietnamese lady hand rowing for 1 hour... amazing. Had a nice lunch and then a cable car ride up to the pagoda... I was expecting one of those Chinesey type pagoda... but instead it's a cave with stalagmites from the roof.... beautiful if unexpected. Then we all voted for the walk back down the mountain having thought it might be scenic.... turns out not - just a long walk. haha But the weather was lovely and we were talking to Liz from the UK chicky who was terribly well travelled and had lots of interesting stories. When we got back then we walked up to the 2nd pagoda which was much more of the expected style of pagodas. See pics below.

Another 1 hour hand pulled row boat ride back to shore and another 2 hour bus ride back to Hanoi, Neil and I were up for some more adventures. So Neil and I wandered around Hanoi shops looking to buy me jeans as I was FREEZING (especially by my Townsville standards). Buying jeans for me proved difficult to say the least as I am nearly 6 foot most of you well know and all the Vietnamese point and stare at me daily (in the non-touristy districts anyway) as it seems I am overly freakishly tall by their standards. Eventually I found a pair - 1 size too big but long enough to just reach the top of my ankles - I also bought a cute belt and I was happy! 😊

We wandered around the Hanoi lake and took photos and I couldn't help myself - went into a few shoe shops - only to find - what a surprise - they don't make shoes over here in my size as apparently my girly big feet are the next best thing to Gangus Khan. 😞 You all already know my love and obsession for shoes and to see soooo many and not be able to take even one pair.... soo unfair. We also went and saw the water puppets which were quite cute and the Vietnamese musicians did a beautiful job, I only wished I could leap over the stage and try all their instruments out!

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Photos

This is the trail we walked to get back down.
Taken from the cabel car