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Published: August 11th 2008
Halong Bay
A view from the caves.Arriving in Hanoi
We got to Hanoi to find ourselves drenched in sweat. I'm pretty sure this is the first really humid country on our trip--I've been extremely lucky this year! Hanoi was much like it's counterpart Ho Chi Minh City--lots of motos! We headed to our hotel and then out to find some food. For supper, we settled on a nice French cafe and ate Italian and Russian food. Point of fact: Russian salad is not a salad with Russian dressing. It's some kind of potato, carrot, cucumber, egg, pickle, onion, tomato concoction drenched with mayo. Not good. After dinner, we took a walk around a nice lake in the center of the "Old Quarter" and finalized some of our travel plans for our next destination.
Finding Hilton ... not the Heiress
We woke up that morning thinking we were going to see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum ... well, I guess you have to get up pretty early in the morning to see that guy. So, we headed to the Temple of Literature instead. This is the first university in Vietnam. The books were on slabs of cement stuck on top of cement turtles. The focus of the university that
Hanoi
Billy and Tasha in front of the Hanoi Hilton. was created about a thousand years ago was on the writings and teachings of Confucius. After the temple, we headed to the Hanoi Hilton ... the prison where the French kept the Vietnamese and then the Vietnamese kept American POWs during the Vietnam War ... made famous by Senator John McCain. They actually tore down most of the prison, and all that is left is a section of it that is set up as a museum. Inside, you will even find a French guillotine--slightly used. After a long day of sight seeing, we had a delicious supper at a vegetarian Indian restaurant. Following dinner, we had a nice massage complete with shower.
Visiting the Dead
We woke up early to view Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body. Then we walked around his estate and visited a museum dedicated to his life. It was very informative, although his body looks like wax. It gets worked on for 3 months every year in Russia. After visiting Ho Chi Minh, we went to the Museum of Ethnology. This was a museum dedicated to the history of the peoples in that area. It was kind of like visiting an Native American museum ... only they
Halong Bay
Row, Billy, Row! were Asian. On the way there, we were accidentally taken and dropped off at another small temple where we got a few pictures, but it wasn't really worth the 20 cents to get in.
Halong Bay
The next day, we had to get up early again to take a two-day boat trip on Halong Bay. The bay was really beautiful, and it was nice to see it riding around on a passenger boat. We stayed the night on the boat, too. That was nice ... and hot. During the trip, we got to go to a huge cave. It had several caverns, and really showed how the rocks and the water create some amazing natural formations. After that, we went kayaking around the bay and a floating village. People actually live in houses in the bay. Then we did some swimming. We had to be careful, because there are jellyfish all over the bay. Billy jumped off the 20 foot high boat and swam around for a while, but he was jellyfish free. The second day, we sailed around the bay, and then we had lunch at a restaurant on the coast. After lunch, we headed back to Hanoi.
Final
Hanoi
Chilis at the market. Day in Vietnam
The last day, we walked around and saw one of the local markets. Billy found some fruit to buy--mangosteens and grapes! The market was much like the ones in the Philippines--too crowded and too much junk! But it was nice to see a place that wasn't marketed for tourists. We also went to see St. Joseph's Cathedral. Looking at it made you feel like you were in Europe ... then the motos rushed by, and you realized you were still in Vietnam. That night, we ate more Italian food, and we hit the hay--ready for an early flight to Bali.
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Debbie
non-member comment
Wow
Nice pictures. I hope Bill was paddling hard on that kayak. Looks like fun now I just want to see Bali photos