Gold Hanoi

... and took their hits like a champ. They offered me some more but I refused.
The people, the scenery, and the culture that I came across on this adventure was….. There isn’t a word that can some up this experience. I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of cool things in my life and I would have to say this was one of the coolest. If you are ever in Vietnam, buck up and rent a motorcycle and drive thru the northwest. I promise you wont regret it.

... day we just relaxed on the top deck sunbathing again and taking in the views this was defiantly the highlight to our trip so far we loved everyminute of it and could of easy stayed on a few more days, when arriving back to the hotel we had an hour to get sorted and got a bus to the next place Nimh Binh.........

A massive thankyou to Auntie lynda, Amy, Gemma and Richard for helping us do this experience so Thank you xxx

... aside, our inconvenience of not having a pool was miniscule compared to the hardships and damage the local people have suffered.
The lower areas near the river are still full of contaminated mud and debri. As usual its the poorer people who live in the lowest areas that suffer the most.
It was heartbreaking to see an old fragile woman clearing the mud away from her familiy's home BY HAND.
The perseverance, tenancity and 'just sort if out' attitude ...

... walk & as you try to cross. I thought Ho Chi Minh City was busy but this is more as the streets in this area as so narrow. Came across some markets & all the strets are just full of people. Craving mashed potato & found a place to have pork chops & mash!! Yay!

Looking forward to exploring more tomorrow & getting a good nights sleep

... Leg room... what's that? The train took 10 hours and we finally arrived to Hanoi at 5am, it could not come fast enough. It was so hot in the train, and between the sweat, the bugs crawling around on the walls, people eating, smoking, laughing... I could not wait to get off. The last hour we had AC... a whole lot of it too. I was freezing.

I arrived back at my hotel, banged on the gate for someone to let me in and passed out. But the room they gave me had no ...

... an excellent knowledge of Vietnamese history and didn’t stop talking passionately about his country all day. He was married with one daughter and wished they could have more children but explained that the cost of living in Hanoi meant that most families have only one child now. His siblings had only daughters as well and Chi’s father is still hoping that Chi would have a son to carry on their family name of Ngyuen ...

... yummy: noodles, mint, fish
sauce, fish cooked with dill. I ate too much, usually the sign of a
great meal.

The last time I updated you was Thursday, I believe. Not much
happened since then. I had a couple of tailor appointments on Friday
morning, and got the final delivery of the clothes! That was the
highlight for sure. Final tally: $600 worth of clothes for $180. Not
bad! I can’t wait to wear something different every week to ...

... normal society.

It's really hard not to compare Hanoi with Saigon so here it goes. There's a north south divide here which runs even deeper than Oxfordshire & Lancashire. While the south live for the moment and are enterprising, fun loving and always out to make money, the north are much more reserved and yeah they're out to make money but there are easier ways of doing it that great service! I'm being too harsh because Hanoi is a ...

... an increase of 25% over the same period of the last year. Travel firms confirmed that domestic tour fees have increased by up to 30% over a year ago.. Explaining the higher charges, Hoan of Redtour said that the service fees all have increased during the holiday, including hotel, restaurant and parking fees, while air carriers do not offer discounts for air tickets on a number of routes during the holiday.

... premier voyage d'avion avec nos bébés. C'est probablement laes parents qui sont plus inquiets que les bébés, comme toujours. Mère et père poule, il faut croire....... Le vol de 1h15 fut assez rapide. Yohan a trouvé ca assez rough, par contre. Monsieur a crié une bonne partie du trajet. Bonne chose que le Biberon était prêt....on l'apprend vite, ce truc-la!.......C'est sur qu'on achète la paix mais bon, ce n'est que ...