Vietnam North to South

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Vietnam has been quite the adventure. I landed in Hanoi at night looking for a meal, I could not bring myself to eat dog, after seeing all the dogs in the street I think karma might catch up with me for that one. The next day I was to tackle the town. There was a large lake about a quarter mile from my hotel that took my 45 minutes to find. I wandered down the same street once or twice until I finally realized I was walking in circles. I got a new map took in a few museums including the national museum and learned quite a bit. Unfortunately I was not able to get into the Masoleum to see Ho Chi Mihns embalmed corpse but had a good time at the complex and exploring the city, taking motos from one stop to the next. I took off for Halong Bay the next day to escape the intensity of the city. The boat trip was all right, dampened by a group of pretentious brits, serge (who somehow always had a beer in his hand even hiking, swimming) and his finance who were russian, a few germans, a timid austraillian, and would have been a nightmare but there was a group of guys from Austin. Crazy how Texans made the trip a bit better but we were able to recap the Lakers latest championship. Unfortunately not much interesting happened that night. The scenery was by far the highlight of the trip, limestone islands popping out of the sea for miles. Some afternoon swimming and diving off the boat along with some decent fish. It was hardly a unique experience as there were about 700 similar trips simultaneously going on. The next day we went to Cat Ba island that was supposed to have 3 amazing beaches, which it did. After a morning hike and with some free time in the afternoon I walked to the farthest beach to escape the barrage of Vietnamese tourists. When I first arrived I was the only person on the beach reading swimming, having a great time. About two hours later it seemed that every person on the island headed to the coast. Literally shoulder to shoulder on the sand. I hiked to check out the other two beaches finding even more people at each. I ended up getting into town hiking out on a makeshift walkway to a fishingboat/restaurant where I was able to choose what I wanted from tanks below the floor. An amazing meal of stir fryed cuddlefish and rice to take in the sunset. A great afternoon. Back in Hanoi the next day I scrambled to get out of town and head to Hue. I was able to book a ticket five minutes before departing, jumped on a moto hanging onto a bag of sandwiches and holding on for my life as we zipped through rushhour traffic arriving just as the bus pulled up. The ride was the longest of my life. Hue was a bit more relaxed with ruins throughout the city. I took it in one day and headed to Hoi An the next. I have been here now for three days, celebrating the 4th exploring the My Son Holy Land of the Cham empire. Some of the ruins were destroyed by the war with the US. Actually a lot of the places I have visited have had ruins demolished in wars with the US or French or have been looted afterwards. In Hoi An I have enjoyed the seaside town bordered by a river. They have head excellend local food in the form of cau lau and white rose. Tonight I head to Nha Trang to enjoy some beaches and some island hopping.

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Photos

Hanoi
Temple of Knowledge

Hanoi
Lake, large turtles are rumored to still live here and hold a famous sword

Cat Ba
In a few hours one couldnt see the water from where this camera was