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Old marrieds travel the world taking in Fiji, NZ, Oz, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and India.

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Hairy women

Perfume Pagoda, Hanoi, Vietnam

Monday, May 12, 2003

Entry 90 of 129 | show all | print this entry

12 May - Another early start - how rude! This time we were off to the Perfume Pagoda which is supposed to be a must do in Hanoi. We were collected from our hotel and walked to the bus by a grumpy guide who didn't say a word. Unlike the trip to Halong bay we had quite a full bus. After about 10 minutes the bus was pulled over by a police man and the driver had to go off to see what was up. About 45 minutes later he returned having had to pay $20 USD to get his licence back. Apparently the bus shouldn't have been in that part of town at that time. We were unsure whether this was an actual law or just part of the usual corruption.

The bus ride took a couple of hours and was on some really bumpy roads through some of the less clean areas of Hanoi. At the town where we were to catch out boat we saw them threshing (or is that thrashing?) the rice that had just been cut. The stems are then laid out on the road to dry and for everyone to drive over. The boat trip was in a small row boat that nearly sank when 4 fat westerners got in - strangely those with locals in seemed to float much better! We were rowed the hour along the river by an old lady who didn't speak a word of English apart from "tip". The first 20 minutes of the journey was very relaxing gently being paddled between the paddy fields with the stunning limestone cliffs beyond. Then our bums started to get numb from the cramped wooden seats and we were urging our rower to go faster. The Perfume river is very narrow at this point and full of very thick weeds so progress was very slow. LJ was scared to move in case she fell into the slimey water.

It was about midday by the time we reached the restaurant where we were due to have lunch but instead of stopping the guide said we had 2 hours of walking to do first. 4KM up hill and 4KM back down again. This walk was to take us to a pagoda in an ancient cave. After the long walk we had expected something a bit more impressive and it was not made any better by the guides poor explanations of everything. When we finally got down we were well and truly ready for lunch but this was a disappoitment as well - I think we were spoilt by Mr Future. After lunch we got to see another Pagoda that was more impressive but I think we are all templed out on this trip now.

Back to our little row boat and numb bum set in after 5 minutes. This time we managed to get stuck in the weeds and were rammed from behind by another boat. The old lady was nattering away to herself in Vietnamese - or maybe she was calling for help we weren't sure. Eventually we got free and made it back to the jetty. Feeling generous I tipped the old lady 80p and she seemed very happy - well she kept waving her oar at me anyway.

When we got back to the Hotel we said the tour hadn't been as good as Halong Bay and they appologised and explained we had been put with another tour company. The cheek of it! In the evening we went to a restaurant called Little Hanoi and had the best meal of Vietnam so far.

13th May - A lucky escape! We visited an old Merchants house that has been restored to how it used to be. This was quite interesting but seemed mainly to be a front for selling various handicrafts. LJ was very taken with the paintings and the embroidery. I started to worry when she was asking me how many we should buy not whether we should. I managed to convince her that we should buy them on our return to Hanoi. Little did she know I meant on another trip!

Later we went for a walk to a market and had one of those special moments. An old lady of 90 plus (I know she was old cos she had a beard) came up to us in the street and shook us by the hand and said Bonjour and then walked off. It's good to see the French left more behind than just baguettes.

In the evening we were taken by motorbike to the train station. Travelling on the back of a motorbike with a 20kg backpack on through the manic streets of Hanoi was an experience to say the least. LJ, without backpack, was white as a sheet when we arrived. For our first train trip in Vietnam we had chosen the luxury of soft sleeper class (you have a choice of hard seat, soft seat and hard or soft sleeper) which is bascially 2 bunk beds in a cabin. We soon noticed an abundance of cockroaches which was almost as horrible as the really hairy legs of one of the girls sharing the cabin with us. Despite the luxury of a 1 inch thick mattress sleep was hard to get as the train rocked from side to side and the cockroaches rustled through the hairy legs.

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Table of Contents

1 - 20 | 21 - 40 | 41 - 60 | 61 - 80 | 81 - 100 | 101 - 120 | 121 - 129

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81.	Meeting the monks - Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep Apr 26, 2003

82.	Laos' equivalent of the Kao San Road - Viang Vien, Lao Peoples Dem Rep Apr 27, 2003

83.	Laos' only real city - Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep May 02, 2003

84.	White water rafting on the Nam Ngum river - Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep May 04, 2003

85.	Last days in Laos - Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep May 04, 2003

86.	Not a Good Morning Vietnam - Hanoi, Vietnam May 05, 2003

87.	3 local brews in one day...... - Hanoi, Vietnam May 11, 2003

88.	Meeting Ho Chi Minh - Hanoi, Vietnam May 11, 2003

89.	Our second honeymoon - Halong Bay / Cat Ba Island, Vietnam May 12, 2003

90.	Hairy women - Perfume Pagoda, Hanoi, Vietnam May 12, 2003

91.	LJ versus the buffalo - Sapa, Vietnam May 15, 2003

92.	Ouch my wallet! - Sapa, Vietnam May 16, 2003

93.	The average age was just nnnnnineteen - Hue, Vietnam May 19, 2003

94.	Ouch my wallet part 2 - Hoi An, Vietnam May 26, 2003

95.	Easy Rider - Dalat, Vietnam May 27, 2003

96.	LJ versus the monkey. (Trip Day 1) - Central Highlands, Vietnam Jun 01, 2003

97.	Playing touch-the-westerner (Trip Day 2) - Central Highlands, Vietnam Jun 01, 2003

98.	How the other half live (Trip Day 3) - Central Highlands / Dong Xoai, Vietnam Jun 01, 2003

99.	Cu Chi Coo - Trip day 4 - Saigon, Vietnam Jun 02, 2003

100.	Big water babies - Saigon, Vietnam Jun 04, 2003

\|	show all entries

1 - 20 | 21 - 40 | 41 - 60 | 61 - 80 | 81 - 100 | 101 - 120 | 121 - 129

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