APT Guesthouse Hanoi

... BBQ'd dogs on the back of a motorbike. They were stacked upside down, still with head, feet and tail. The tails were bobbing as the motorbike drove along. I knew to expect this – but not so soon on arrival!

Our hotel is in an area called The Old Quarter, and is representative of the typical French-influenced architecture that we have seen in Hanoi – a very narrow and tall building. Our hotel is about 5 stories high ...

... to get away and then they say that this is where we are staying. but this room is too expensive, so we play the haggling game and get the price down, only to find that when w go back to the place the low price they gave us never existed and its back up to the full price. we played this game over and over again until we gave up and went to a hotel that we thought offered the best price.

its scams galore as we finally settle ...

... of its southern sister. Rather, it is a city with seasons and moods, two lovely, one too hot, one a bit dreary; a downtown that sleeps at night; a more polite, conservative citizenry; and a long established artistic and intellectual tradition. For sites to see in the city and neighboring regions, it beats Saigon by a long shot. As the economy develops, the city's pace may pick up and even one day ...

I finally got a real salad. I went to the American Club to have lunch before the hash today and gambled that the salad was just that. Last week I ordered a salad and it came as a bowl of cucumbers, red peppers and onions. So my fear was that would be what I'd get today but instead it was a real salad with lettuce and all. And then I chanced french fries ('chips' for my British friends) just because I wanted to see what they'd be and alas I got real ...

... with beautiful scenery, good trekking and, as it turned out, really annoying local tribes people that would leave a sour taste in mine and Suzanna’s mouths (metaphorically speaking). But, having wetted your appetite for more, I’m going to leave it there for now and get this part of the Vietnam blog out to you, while I continue slaving away on the next part over a cold beer in a hot country.
Take care everyone and we’ll see you very very soon. Love to you all
Tons and Suzanna
xx.

... and United show the same movies--what a disappointment!), we arrived in Taipei at 5:30 am on Thursday. Three hours later we were off to Hanoi, and at 10:30 am we arrived. We checked in to our hotel and are now out exploring. Much more to come!

... been great to really explore this complex further, but we had to head back to the boats. On the way back we did walk past the restaurant we ate at, and to our horror there were dry cured dogs strung up for the eating. The chef carving parts off like saucisson; to our horror. The look of contemplation and doubt was on all of our faces. Whats done is done. Best not to think about it now. We made it back to the boat, and another hour ...

... do some site seeing- going to the Temple of Literature, pretty average, and the Ho Chi Minh museum, didn't actually go inside. We attempted to go to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum but it was closed, only open in the mornings. We also took Chris to the doctor. He has developed some mild breathing problems from all the polluted countries. I think it is just a mild form of asthma . But the doctor also thought we might have worms ...