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Published: October 19th 2008
Hanoi
Hanoi BridgeBetter late than never but I have finally downloaded pictures of my trip to Southeast Asia. I can't find my notes so this is from memory, guess that's what happens when you wait 6 months to post, argh. After spending the night in Hanoi we headed north to Halong Bay on the South China Sea. Our junk boat was one of the nicest on the bay and the food was outstanding. Wish I could remember the name of it. We went on a tour of Surprise Cave and climbed to the top of Cat Ba island. We did notice that the water in the bay was very polluted. This is a must do if you come to Vietnam.
After returning to Hanoi it was time to get on the overnight train heading South to Hue. It was a fun experience but the beds were pretty uncomfortable and I wasn't too sure of the matress & blankets. Bring a sleep sheet if you take the train. We arrived around 9am and checked into our hotel the Asia Hotel which was the nicest on the trip. In Hue we had a guide and went to the Imperial Citadel took a boat down the
Hanoi
Hanoi Street Scene Perfume River to the Thein Mu Pagoda, Minh Mang Tomb & the Forbidden Purple City We went to a restaurant where we dressed up in imperial costumes and were shown a performance while we ate. I can't remember the name of course but it was a lot of fun and a recommended must do. Once again the food was delicious, especially the Bun bo Hue a spicy noodle soup.
Next we drove to Hoi An over a very steep and treacherous mountain pass that provided spectacular views of the ocean. We stopped and talked to some people who were riding their bikes over this pass. Man you would have to be crazy. Our hotel was called the Van Loi had a pool and was located on the other side of the Cam Nam Bridge. A good location and pretty nice hotel. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a must see. It was my favorite city in Vietnam. This is the town if you want to buy art and other trinkets to take home with you. I bought a great painting from Gallary 39. I did a lot of searching and I really liked this artist's
Hanoi
Me in Hanoi work. This is also the place to have clothes tailored. The best place for that is Yaly. I had a beautiful dress made for a wedding I attended in June and also a skirt & silk blouse. You should also purchase a entrance ticket to view the cultural sites around the city. You are able to view 5 of them with this one ticket but I believe there are about 15 or so. I would say not to use the ticket for the Japanese Bridge because you can go there in the evening and it is free. There are several outstanding restauarants in Hoi An, my favorite was the Cargo Club. Another fun thing to do is take cooking classes, there are several and I can't remember where we did ours. One of the guys from my tour and I rented bikes and rode out to Cua Dai Beach, about a 2 mile ride. We planted ourselves on a beach chair for about 3 hours and had a bit of relax time. We were bothered by the ladies trying to sell you something every 2 minutes but ended up talking to one named Phung for a while, she spoke english
Halong Bay
Our Junk Boat well. That was one of my favorite experience from the trip, learning about her and her family.
We then headed to Danang to catch our flight to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon). Once we arrived we checked into our hotel and then set out for a walking tour and drinks at the Saigon Bar a rooftop hotel bar. The next morning we headed to the Chu Chi tunnels and had a tour and learned about how the Viet Kong survived during the war. We were able to go into a portion of the tunnel that was widened for tourists but even that was too claustrophobic and I had to get out fast. We had time to visit a few museums when we returned from the tunnels, the War Remenants museum and the Reunification Palace which I think they re-named the Independence Palace. Then it was time for our last dinner together at the night market, as some of the members of our group were heading home while the rest of us where heading to Cambodia. It was time to say goodbye as we were heading to the Mekong Delta to catch a ferry to Phnom Penh the next morning.
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