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Sorry it has been a while since the last post, over the past week we have been quite busy.
We arrived in Hanoi last Monday (14th) and spent the next two days sightseeing. We went to the Ho Chi Minh complex where we saw his embalmed body (a strange experience), the museum devoted to him and the nearby Presidential Palace. We also went to the Temple of Literature and the Hoa Lo prison among other things. I really liked Hanoi. Despite hectic traffic it came across as quite a relaxed city, nothing seemed rushed. We also stayed in a fantastic hostel, run by two Australians. Everyone was friendly and helpful.
During our time in Hanoi we then went on a fantastic 3-day tour to Halong bay, where over 3000 islands rise out from the sea. Half on the trip was spent on a boat sailing around the rocks, swimming and visiting a massive cave. The other half was on Cat Ba island (the only populated island in Halong Bay)where we went trekking up a mountain and went to another nearby island. We stayed on a boat for one night and a hotel for the other. These were easily
the best rooms we stayed in over the whole trip. They both had air conditioning and the hotel even had a T.V! Luxury. All our meals were also included and we were served gorgeous seafood for the whole trip. And all for 37 English pounds. Not too bad.
We got back from our tour on Saturday and late that night got on a train to Saigon. 30 hours and 3 disgusting meals later we arrived early on Monday morning. On Wednesday we went to the Cu Chi tunnels, which were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war. It was interesting to see all the tunnels and have a crawl about in them. There is also a firing range, where, apparently, you you can shoot anything from a pistol to a rocket launcher. We went and investigated as Aidan was considering having a go. However, we decided it was a bit too loud so we got a chocolate Cornetto instead - we are real men.
Yesterday we went to the Mekong Delta (see video). Here we got to see the river settlements that are around the delta. We also got to taste some honey straight from the
honey comb, and taste loads of strange fruits. We also bicycled through one of the settlements. As you can expect, the scenery was amazing.
Apart from our two day tips, we haven't really done much since we got here - just relaxed. On Saturday we get the bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. we plan to stay in Cambodia for six days before going back to Bangkok to meet Vicky for next weekend.
Jim
P.S. Chris Ogden of Robert Street fame: i should be available to work from the 28th of June, so if there are any shifts going i would be happy to do them. Just send me a message on here and i will post my email address. Cheers mate.
P.P.S. Aidan has a new blog up at http://zedex81.co.uk.
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