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Published: August 10th 2013
Kids and a card
We're checking out soon and we came back to our room to find this handmade thank you card from the hotel with drawings of Ben and Carys on the front in the clothes they're wearing. What a nice touch!We leave here today, Saturday, for Bangkok where we hope to meet up with our old friend Simon D.
We have some time this morning to wander more, but I thought I'd add a couple more thoughts before we head to the airport.
First, I haven't mentioned value. This place is very cheap for us westerners. Our hotel (The Hanoi Moment 2, which is great) is about $40/night for a big two room suite. Good meals cost $5-$10/person, and a beer is a buck! Ben bought a Barcelona soccer shirt last night in the night market for $6. I suspect that the Nike logos may not be entirely legit, but it's a nice shirt all the same. Entry fee to most tourist sites is $1-2/person. OK, so this isn't a luxurious place by any stretch of the imagination, but your money goes a long way.
Another amusing thing here is that streets have themes. There is a street near our hotel where every shop sells metals shelves. And only metal shelves! We've seen the bathroom sink road, the wedding invitation road, the flower shop road, the sunglasses road and even the coffin road! Haggling before making a purchase
here is the norm, and I have to think that locating your shop right next to 25 other shops selling the same thing doesn't help the vendors side all that much. But at least you know exactly where to go when you need a coffin.
Lastly, overall impression. I've really enjoyed Hanoi. Unlike Beijing, there is absolutely no doubt that we're not in Kansas anymore! The town is what I hoped to see and experience in Asia. It's buzzing (mostly with motorbikes!), the people are friendly and the food is great. I suspect that some people would be freaked out by just how different this is from our daily lives, but I love it. I don't want to live here but I'm very glad to have been here for a while.
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Lizzie
non-member comment
Hello
Hello to you all! Just wanted to say I love getting your daily updates and hearing how it's all going. Your talk of Hanoi reminds me of my time in India and hearing stories from Ollie when he was there- such an amazing experience for you all! I loved the description of the traffic and crossing the road- I remember arriving in Bangkok and waiting for a gap until Ollie grabbed my hand and we walked, with purpose and no hesitation people just got out of our way! Definitely takes some getting used to and I imagine it's far more nerve wracking with children!! I'm glad the weather cleared up a bit in Hanoi too- you guys looked like you were embracing it as much as you could though, fair play! I thought Bangkok was pretty awesome, it's a big city with a lot of the things people don't like about Asian cities, but it's also fascinating! I'm not sure what day it is, I think it's on the weekend, but Chatuchak Market (spelling might be questionable!) was amazing and mind blowing! DEFINITELY one I would recommend if you can get over there- It was like nothing I have ever experienced and definitely the place to get some souvenirs at insanely low prices. They have everything there, from kitchen sinks, to puppies, to amazing food, to garden furniture, clothes etc...We got a rickshaw out and back and it wasn't too pricey, but as I'm sure you can imagine there are taxis everywhere wanting to take you all over the place!! Sounds like you're practicing your haggling well, it was never my forte, but I'm sure with your trading experience you're pretty good at it!! Anyway, safe flight, I look forward to the next update, I'm getting the emails so get to hear about your latest adventure every day! I'm VERY jealous and so pleased you sound like you're having such a good time! Lots of love to you all xxx