March 15, 2010 – Day 445 – Hue, Vietnam
Hue’s Citadel is like a smaller, more quaint version of Beijing’s Forbidden City. It’s a quiet complex with more ruins than standing buildings, compliments of some serious bombing during the Vietnam War.
Inside the Citidel
March 13-14, 2010 – Day 443-444 – Hanoi to Hue, Vietnam
After a day of waiting around for the night bus to Hue, we were happy for a change of scenery in Hue. We took our time wandering around the small city to see what was around. It’s pretty simple but there are plenty of interesting things to do around Hue. Maybe we will go do something interesting tomorrow, you never know…
Fruit selling in Hue
March 12, 2010 – Day 442 – Ha Long Bay to Hanoi, Vietnam
Bang, bang bang! “Hello! Get up!” Bang, bang! “Hello! Kayaking!”
And that was at 6:30am. We had not even had breakfast yet and were just waking up when we heard the call for hello kayaking. Shaking the sleep from our bones we dropped into our 2 person kayak and paddled around the bay.
Kayaking too early
March 11, 2010 – Day 441 – Ha Long Bay
Bright and early this morning we went “trekking.” Usually this means walking around on paved sidewalks with some kind of vegetation nearby, although that is optional. Today they actually meant some serious hiking. Inside Cat Ba National Park we climbed over tree roots and through slippery mud to get to the top of the big hill for a nice view of the island.
She'll be coming round the mountain
March 10, 2010 – Day 440 – Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
This morning we began day one of our 3 day/2 night Ha Long Bay tour. With a mini bus ride at 8AM and then boarding the boat at 3PM, it turned out to be quite a travel day. Once we were settled aboard the ship, we were set to cruise around the bay.
Boats in the bay
March 9, 2010 – Day 439 – Hanoi, Vietnam
When in Hanoi, there are two things you must do. One of them is visit the Ho Chi Minh Musuem. It’s pretty freakin’ crazy. The first floor is all photographs of “Uncle Ho” here and there with various farmers or peasants or babies with plenty of reading material alongside.
The man himself
March 7-8, 2010 – Days 437-438 – Hanoi, Vietnam
Though it isn’t much to write home about, we spent a couple of days wandering the streets of Hanoi, doing a spot of shopping along the way. Hanoi is a great place for cheap shopping ranging from handbags to fake watches to decent western clothing and plenty more. Not a great deal of the goods are extremely high quality but depending on what you are looking for it works out alright. Plus, it is fun to have a look anyway.
Hanging out around the lake
March 7, 2010 – Day 436 – Hanoi, Vietnam
A market in Hanoi is a unique place. Like a whirling planet of activity all happening within the confines of a thimble. The aisles are so cramped that a single person can barely squeeze through, and just imagine what happens when someone stops to look at something in one of those tiny aisle shops.
The eye of the storm
March 6, 2010 – Day 436 – Hanoi, Vietnam
At 6:30am, we pulled into Hanoi. Well, more like 25km outside Hanoi city. It was still dark and we were still kind of asleep when we shared a taxi with someone to downtown to try to find a place to sleep for the night. At least we were getting any early start!
Streets of Hanoi
March 5, 2010 – Day 435 – Vinh, Vietnam
Between the hours of 5am and 6:30am the next morning, we were on a bus. Correction: 2 buses. Crossing the Vietnamese border was pretty much a piece of cake. It was slower than it needed to be because it seemed like the officials were looking to find any possible reason to hold up someone just for the fun of it. Since everyone on our bus was prepared with a proper visa and everything else, there was nothing they could do but sulk. (It’s a universal border official pastime.)
Waiting around for the bus
Taxi Rides = 123
Boat Rides = 35
Motorcycle Rides = 10
Plane Rides = 16
Bus Rides =330
Train Rides = 124
Rickshaw Rides = 98
Truck Bed Rides = 25
Rainy Days = 42
Current Rummy Score
Lin 10950, Saben 12435
