We went on our boat trip to Halong Bay. It was really good, we had 3 storey boat to ourselves. The lower deck had six double bedrooms. The middle deck had the living area and kitchen, and the top deck had sunbeds. We got good weather on the day which was a shock due to the floods that are going on in Vietnam at the moment. The top deck of the boat was also good for running and jumping of into the sea. The boat was probably about 30ft high, so it was a bit of a jump!!! We also stopped off at a man made beach which is situated right in the middle of the sea. It was a bit strange seeing a beach way out there. The tour lasted for 22 hours so we got to stay in the middle of the sea over night. There was also floating shops in the middle of the sea. You will be able to sea these floating shops in the photos that we have just uploaded. After we arrived back at the harbour in Halong Bay, we got on our bus and headed to hanoi. The Vietnamese capital. Hanoi is crazy!!!! I have never seen so many mopeds on the road at once! It is almost impossible to get a gap in the traffic to be able to cross the road. Even when its a red light and green man!!!! Our tour guides advice for crossing the road in Hanoi was " look both ways and the just cross, dont stop and the mopeds will go around you" It does work, but its still a bit scary when you have hundreds of mopeds coming flying past you from both directions going about 50 mph!!! Today we went to see the maosoleum where the great Vietnamese politician Hoi Chi Min's body is kept. It is pretty disgusting, as the Vietnamese have decide to stuff his body and have hin lying in his bed, as if he never passed away. We also went to visit a prison which the French built in the early 19th century to imprison the Vietnamese, and then it was later used by the Vietnamese to imprison american prisoners of war during the vietnamese wars. It was really interesting to have a look around the place and read stories about the american pilots who were captured and kept there for about 12 years. We have some nice pics of us locked in the cells. I did think about leaving Belen there for a split second! Tomorrow night we board the train to Hui, which should take us around 12 hours.

Espanol

No me acuerdo que fue lo que os conte la ultima vez. Ahora estamos en Hanoi. Es una ciudad con un monton de habitantes que no duermen por la noche y que les gusta mucho las motos y la mayoria han ganado el permiso de conducir en una tombola!!Si la verdad es que conducen fatal y para cruzar la carretera no veas, si no veas, es mejor no mirar! El truco segun nos han contado es cruzar sin mirar, no pararte y correr, las motos te van toreando al cruzar. Lo tengo comprobado es mejor no correr o pararte ya que las veces que podria haber tenido un accidente habrian sido por ese motivo. Creo que os conte que ibamos a hacer un crucero por Halong Bay. Nos gusto mucho, especialmente el paisaje. Fuimos a unas cuevas pero no eran nada del otro mundo. Nos dieron de comer 9 platos y de cenar 10 platos. La comida estaba muy buena. Por la noche nos quedamos a dormir en el barco. Luego cojimos el autobus hacia Hanoi. Es un milagro que puedo contar esto ya que aqui la gente conduce como locos, menos mal que el conductor tambien estaba un poco loco y sabia manejar el volante. Aqui la gente adelanta cuando hay otro adelantando es decir hay dos o tres personas adelantando el mismo coche/moto a la vez cuando es un carril de doble sentido!! Durante nuestra estancia en Hanoi hemos visitado una carcel que era muy interesante (construida por los franceses), una universidad antigua donde Confucio dabla clases, lago, la ciudad antigua (que le llaman the french quarter) y el mausoleo/casa de Ho Chi Min (un politico comunista). El tiempo por aqui esta bien pero segun tengo entendido el tiempo esta bastante mal por Hue y Ho chi Min City, hay un Typhon, mucha lluvia! Hay algunas fotos interesantes, gente en moto con 6 cerdos atras, o pollos, hemos visto a uno con una moto con una vaca detras, o una familia de cuatro en una moto!! Espero que os gusten. Bueno seguro que se me olvida algo pero es que cada dia hacemos tantas cosas... Besos