Thien Thai Hanoi

... is, it's a vehicle with of a ute or truck type with two benches down the try, they come in a range of sizes, this one was of a middle sized variety.

So we piled in, us Farangs taking up one half of if and locals taking up the other, the journey was well and truly entertaining! We had 21 people in the tray at one stage, and all their stuff!

It was cool just to be a part of the locals everyday life for 4 hours, we got to help get their ...

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Day 6 : Da Lat - Nhatrang

Day 7 : Nhatrang tour

Day 8 : Nhatrang relaxing

Day 9 : Nhatrang – Fly To Danang – Transfer to Hoi An

Day 10 : Hoi An – Hue half day tour

Day 11 : Hue City tour

Day 12 : Hue – Fly to Hanoi ...

... a little bit of shopping. We also took a cyclo city tour, a bizarre and sometimes terrifying experience, being right in the thick of the mad throngs of rush hour traffic with only the power of the drivers legs behind to navigate a safe path…

We’re now looking forward to some slightly calmer destinations as we head further south, next stop Hue and Hoi An via sleeper train from Hanoi. Paddy fields, beaches and cheap tailors beckon!

... block, traffic was light so we ventured out and I felt really good and confident. By now Chace, an Aussie friend and teacher. had joined us. One rode in front and one in back to watch over me. I was doing great and my confidence was soaring. I was out in traffic, light albeit but still Hanoi traffic. Jin was the "lead teacher" in this adventure and he asked if I wanted to go a little farther and try a hill. I felt good so I said yes and I did well with that ...

... for Ho Chih Min (Here, Andrea got too close to the entrance and was whistled away by an armed guard). This walking idea was our plan to burn off our large breakfast, in addition to experiencing the city on foot, but at some point the sticky heat and treacherous traffic got to us. We decided to hire a bicycle rickshaw to take us to lunch at the end of our sightseeing morning. It turns out, this was just a treacherous. Our biker/driver reassured us, as he ...

... it did...though I was pleased to have gone. I was most definitely one of the only fair skinned visitors - so much so that a young Vietnamese girl asked to have her picture taken with me! Wasn't sure if I should feel like a celebrity or a circus act...

Security surrounding the mausoleum's grounds is strictly enforced. Visitors snake their way across the grounds in a line resembling one at Disneyland. Large bags must be checked in while ...

... stuff - like what football boots he had. Thinking back, he may have been a little bit retarded. We drank some rather ****-tasting shots of Vietnamese 'wine' with them, and we both woke up with our anal virginity intact, so all good there. Got some photos with the locals, and one even gave us 500 Dong as a souvenir. We returned the favour giving him a 20p coin. He didn't seem that impressed until he realised it could buy him a couple of the beers he was drinking.

... minutes late! Looking back on it now it is funny but at the time everyone was pretty irritable. The map I had looked at earlier wasn't labled correctly so I missed the turn for the hotel at an intersection that resembles a spiderweb...and we didn't physically have the map with us at the time..big mistake! Luckily we still got to make it to the precious water puppets show... It would have been fun and interesting if the show was ...

... bridge after another and one street after another and finally made our way back when it started to show signs of starting to rain. Before we returned our bikes we stopped by a road side café and had some local noodles...which were yummy! After freshening up, we went searching for dinner and ended up in Little Italy again. Christmas mood was definitely in. This time we studied the menu a little longer and found out continental food was ...