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Published: March 24th 2007
The Craziness that is the streets of Hanoi
Rach crossing the street So we have arrived safely in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thank goodness because not even before our first leg of the trip did Rachael leave her passport and tickets at the Hudson News counter...thankfully, the woman who helped us ran after us into the bathroom stalls!! The whole trip over was surpisingly pleasant...we really liked Japan Airlines and our kosher meals 😊 We definitely did it right, sitting upstairs...we booked seats on the window and aisle and thankfully noone sat in the middle so we had great space. I made a penpal on the flight with this college student from Tokyo...he passed me notes on the plane and of course I was happy to respond! The 22 hours of traveling went so much quicker than expected and we arrived at the Sheraton in Hanoi a day and a half after we left. The hotel is nice and just outside "downtown" Hanoi so it is much quieter than the city,w hich is BUSTLING from as early as 5AM apparently. The room is also nice as we got upgraded to a better room cuz of my "gold starwood" status.
Did some tourist stuff this morning and visited "Uncle Ho's" aka Ho Chi Minh's
Masoleum...where his deceased body is embalmed and on display....fascinating. They made us leave our bags and cameras (which obviously I was nervous about and missed on a couple of shots...but everything was fine). Next we went to the Old Quarter which is the heart of the city and if you're not on a motorbike you're an outcast. We just kept thinking, where do they all come from?!?! There are soo many people on motorbikes...from one person to four (mom, dad, brother & sister) all on ONE! even little babies ride on the bikes...they also pack up the back of the bike with everything from bundles of flowers, to tvs, to dozens of jugs of water bottles (the four gallon water bottles that go on a water cooler).
We've eaten two meals since we've been here (both at the hotel) since we are a little concerned about eating, but we leave the Westernized Sheraton tomorrow and will have to eat something local for the rest of the trip.
We booked the rest of our trip today while in the Old Quarter through a well-known travel agency called Handspan. Tomorrow we are off to Halong Bay on a junk boat
tour...then to Sapa where we take a sleeper train to the northwest part of Vietnam where we will see the beautiful countryside and do a homestay. Back to Hanoi two days later...where we will fly out to Hoi An for 3 days of beach, personally tailored clothes, and relaxation. Then off to Saigon and the Mekong Delta. We fly out April 3. We are very excited about all of this, although it is a very ambitous schedule.
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Mom (Rach's)
non-member comment
Passport, where was the thing we bought for it?
Hey, can't believe you almost lost it, especially since we made a special trip to buy that thing to put it in, ha, ha. Almost doesn't count, so glad to hear you're safe and sound, together, buddies, like hold each other's hands, like when you were little and had to find a partner to buddy up with on a trip. I love you, miss you, and continue to be so very excited for you both. Love, Mom/Ab xox Love, from Adam toooooooooo!