I'm goin' to Bonnydoon!

---

Here in Hanoi, one of the western-style cafes (named the Kangaroo Cafe, and of course there are about 3 other rip-off "Kangaroo Cafes" around town!) sells T-shirts which proclaim, in Vietnamese, "No! I do not want... motorbike, cyclo, postcards, cigarettes, t-shirts, etc.. now go away!". I think it sells well. If the locals here actually learned the word "no" in their standard issue Vienglish textbooks, they're not letting on. In this city, with its amazing old quarter complete with a maze of narrow streets (named after the products sold on the street - I'm staying on Thuoc Bac Street, which must be Vietnamese for 'Pots and Pans") and motorbikes blocking every path, you are accosted non-stop by motorbike and cyclo drivers wanting to take you places as you walk (quicker than them) down the middle of the street. When you avoid the streets and sit by one of the many lakes, you make any number of nice new friends, who just want you to 'look' at their postcards.

As you can probably tell, I'm getting a little fed up with the difficulty of finding genuine people here in Vietnam, and the constant hassles involved with simply walking around. I need to find some serenity: my very own Bonnydoon (aaaaahh... the serenity!) - tomorrow I'm off to Laos.

It obviously isn't all bad! My 3-day trip to Halong Bay, a 200 sq km stretch of water off the coast east of Hanoi, with over 2000 limestone 'karst' islands, was definitely the highlight of my time here in Vietnam. The trip augured well from the beginning, when I discovered I was on a 14 person tour which included 11 females!, and only got better with the fantastic swimming and kayaking in the dead calm water, and hiking on the bay's biggest island Cat Ba to see breathtaking views of the karst landscape of the island and the bay. The fact I was at the end of my travels through the government appointed tourist trail was all too evident, though, as every boat touring the bay had to moor overnight in the exact same cove, turning this wonderful area into yet another mini-hotel alley for the night.

Back in Hanoi, I didn't get to see "Uncle Ho's" embalmed corpse at his mausoleum (it was closed for the day), but I did have a peek at Maison Central - the french built Hoa Lo prison nicknamed "Hanoi Hilton" by former US POWs. The highly objective and impartial exhibits did a great job explaining the "criminal acts upon brave patriots" by the "evil french colonialists", during the colonial days, and equally the fine and just treatment afforded the lucky US POWs during the American War.

Earlier in the week, I had decided to fast-track my trip up the coast, since the feeling of being a Japanese package tourist was becoming all too familiar. After a longer than expected return to Nha Trang (I may still have been in the pub with a great French bloke I met when the overnight bus left), I had a day or two in each of Hoi An (an ancient town which seems to be one big tailor's shop) and Hue (the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty's of the 1800s). Hue featured a massive imperial city (Citadel) with beautiful tree-lined paths and stone-walled motes. The rapidly crumbling (but only 150 yo) buildings were an excellent example of the "built-to-last" mentality of Vietnamese architecture so evident in their roads! I also spent a day talking about my beloved Broncos with a fellow Queenslander I met on a day trip down the town's "Perfume" River. I think it was fun for him too.

So now I'm in Hanoi and leaving for Laos this afternoon, a little earlier than expected. It must be something about the place I suppose, but in Vietnam I managed to finally read the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". It helped a little. I'm hoping my next book, Elmore Leonard's "Be Cool", will provide a much better theme for the next few weeks of travel in Laos.

---

Photos

Halong Bay 1
Cruisin' on the boat

Halong Bay 2
Sunset on Halong Bay

Halong Bay 3
The usual picture postcard shot...

Inside the Citadel
The Imperial Palace in Hue

Walls of the Citadel
Again, in Hue

Shops in Hoi An
I think there's a tailor 'round here somewhere...