Joy Hotel Hanoi

... outside, and got onto a bus (there were about 5 of them waiting). The bus took us for the scenic tour of the airport, driving underneath jet bridges as other international and domestic airplanes were being fueled. We drove way out onto the open tarmac, until we were wondering if we had just booked a bus to Vietnam, and there, sitting in a row with a 747 and a 777, was our ******ety Airbus 300.

The airplane was old, but ...

... com

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... me asking people about the bus to Vinh and told me that the coach I was about to get on is to Vientiane, not Vietnam. 'I am going to Vinh too' he said, 'it is late'. I thanked him for his help and we both sat at a station cafe for a quick breakfast. The coach showed up soon after and we climbed aboard. We set off for a fairly bumpy ride across to Vietnam. The coach was half empty and occupied by mostly local Lao and Vietnamese. It was a nice journey and ...

... paddies where mountains jut out majestically in the midst of a calm river. Wendy pretended not to speak VNese to avoid being hassled so she had a riot listening to the rowers gossip left and right.

Upon returning to our hotel, the staff invited us for dinner ! Every night they have a late dinner together before going to their quarters and to their homes. We had the pleasure to share their table, it was extremely nice of them. The ...

... both ordered eggs. We were only able to eat half and I think our butler was a little perturbed with our inability to inhale the entire meal. Oh, the coffee is amazing. If I didn’t think I would go into cardiac arrest from this high octane beverage, I would drink this all day. This miracle drink is a cure to jetlag. I’m convinced scientists will find it is a derivative of crack.

Next, we grabbed a cab for the Old Quarter in Hanoi to begin ...

Hanoi, "the city in a bend of a river," was once named Thang Long (yup, just like the yummy restaurant in the avenues), or "The City of Soaring Dragons." Found this interesting, as I've encountered images of soaring dragons quite recently - but those were in Clear Lake...

Woke to an array of sounds this morning that seemed to crescendo by the minute...shopkeepers sweeping the remnants of the previous evening, motorbikes honking and zooming ...

... today) were. Everything about the Vietnamese is glorious and great, especially in comparison to their American and French occupiers. One thing they seem to have in common with the English though is their hate of the French - always comforting!

Came back, and after much difficulty, sorted out our flights for the rest of Vietnam. Our itinerary looks like this now:

19th - Last day in Hanoi
20th - Fly and spend the day in Hoi An
21st-22nd ...

... can say they have done that! Not Aunt Charlene (tsk tsk!) she was being too prissy and didn't want to get in the water! You guys make sure to give her a hard time about it, haha. I really wish we could have stayed longer because I wanted to go sea kayaking so bad. I think that would be an amazing way to experience the bay. To be that low on the water and to be able to kayak right up to the edge of the caves and cliffs would ...

... to decide. J After we were brought back to shore, we took a walk back to our Hotel. On the way back, we passed by an Art Gallery and went in to check the place out. Here we found amazing pieces of artwork - handstitched pictures of anything imaginable - people, places, animals, events of daily lives, etc. It was a very interesting gallery and not to be missed. Footnote: We later found out this was not the only restaurant offering such ...