Joseph'S Hotel Hanoi

... to the humidity of the South. Just lovely. Great shops (but I've been really good and not bought too much, just essential Christmas presents, honest..), cafes and restaurants too. I went to a place called La for dinner tonight. I had a delicious chicken curry, and banana cake with fresh ginger and Baileys cream, rinsed down with a beer. All for about six pounds! Oh, and in case you wondered ...

I had a fantastic time here in Vietnam, a beautiful country I will visit again someday for sure. I loved traveling here, Hoi An and Nha Trang were definitely highlights; I hope that you too can visit someday. I have made a promise to myself to adopt a child from one of the countries I have visited, as there are so many ...

... in one with four others – three Korean men and one Vietnamese woman. One man acted as a tour guide and translator for the two brothers, who looked to be in their mid forties - one of whom was married to the young Vietnamese woman, who did not speak any Korean, and he not a word of Vietnamese. Aside from the language barrier and obvious age difference, they seemed quite the happy couple.

The ride up river was calming and relaxing but for the wooden ...

... of his working life selling things, in a shop and as a financial adviser, to others!? We ended up in a nice restaurant with good food to end the day. I can’t say the company was all good though, as the table next to us complained to the boss man when they realised there was a snake under their table!! Turned out it was a small one but all the same, no one was particularly brave when it came to getting rid of it, which made me think it may have been a baby poisonous one!! Anyway, we ...

... long night and day and many phone calls to family, insurance and airline, we made the decision that I would not go home as he was expected not to make it through the next 24 hours and my flight would take almost 30 hours. It was a difficult decision but supported by my family. I don't think Car really understands and Joe was very upset when we first told him but is now better.

I will maintain contact with home on a daily basis, and this ...

... bribe the cops more and more to stay open later. As a result the bars get more expensive as you go since they are bribing the police more to stay open later. The police are very nice though, we were in one bar when they came in and let some of the girls we were with take pictures with them and what not. Only annoying part of the night ...

... we HAD to get across the border on the 5th because that's when our visas ran out. Our plan was to arrive on the evening of the 4th, stay on the Vietnamese side, then crossing early the next morning giving us plenty of time to get to Vieng Xai. Turned out, we arrived at lunchtime on the 5th, waited for the border crossing to open again at 2 and by the time we had gone through formalities at the border (having our temperatures read to see if we had SARS) it ...

... instead - more my usual role!We all slept a good alcohol induced nights sleep that night. Except me... as in the middle of the night I was woken up by a cockroach landing on my head! I still havent decided if I was lucky that I was woken up rather than spend the night with a cockroach in my bed! The next day was rather subdued as there were quite a few poorly heads on the boat so we all just chilled out on our way back to mainland and got on the longest (or so it felt) bus journey ...

... the hotel we wanted to stay at was full, insofaras they had spare rooms but we'd have to move around 3 different rooms in 3 nights, which is no fun, so the kind lady on the desk helped us to find a room in a nearby hotel of a similar standard, bless her.

She came off the phone and said something like:

"Ok, they have 4 free rooms for 3 nights. One is US $40 with no windows. One is US $45 with a small window ...

... Somehow my entire life, all forty-four years, has somehow led up to this point, and I don’t know how the story ends. I toss, and then turn, but nothing changes. Then I try to get up but can’t even move. I’m becoming paralyzed. I’m dying. Something I ate or drank is slowly but inexorably killing me, and there’s not a thing I can do about it. I can’t even call for help. I see light coming in beneath the door, and tell ...