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We left Hoi An on a rainy day and flew to Ha Noi hoping the weather would clear up for us but we were only faced with colder and wetter weather. Brrrr! I hope that is the only time we have to use that word on this trip. It had to of been at least 5 degrees...a very cold 5 degrees! In our warmest clothes (tights and hoodies) we set off to meet the group at a restaurant in the Old Quarter, conveniently the same area where our hotel was. What should of taken only 5 mins ended up more like 20, but thats because the streets are so narrow and short as they are the original 36 streets which once made up the entire city. Back then each street had merchants specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewellery, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations.
Even though it took us 20 min we were early for our reservation so we walked down the street saw an empty bench in front of a pub and had a few beers while struggling to play a game of chess. For dinner we ate at one of the oldest restaurants in town, there are over 9 locations and they have kept their original prices. We had some of the best food to date. Next, we headed out to the bar for some dancing and it's happy hour so as soon as we walk in they give everyone a free large bottle of beer! Another G adventure group met up with us so we have basically taken over the bar, soon we are off to the next club for some western beats . Hanoi has a midnight curfew so the police drive around to every club and make sure they shut down ( every club except the ones who pay them off) lucky the owner of this bar has friends in high places so everyone has to move to the upstairs, for some quieter music and visiting... it's nice to keep the night going since the next time we see them half of the group will be gone.
After a few short hours of sleep a bus picks us up to take us to Ha Long Bay, this is a rough ride, not only because of the lack of sleep but the road is very bumpy and the driver is rather erratic. After 4 hours on the bus we board our junk boat " the Phoenix ",our group is mostly an older crowd but we make friends with a few cuties from Australia and a kiwi. Now, Ha Long Bay is beautiful, but unfortunately it's freezing and foggy so the spectacular view we saw in pictures is covered by rain and clouds. Good thing we have our imaginations though. We explore an enormous cave, bravely jump off the deck off the boat, eat a delicious diner and hang out for the rest of the night chatting and taking turns picking songs from the kiwis iPod.
After one night on the junk we get taken back to Hanoi for one more night in the capital. We decided against the 24 hr bus trip from Vietnam to Laos and choose a 55 minute flight instead :D. The flight was early so we spent the last night in Vietnam treating ourselves to some wine and a nice dinner at the Green Mango - the same restaurant we went to with Kevin Hoi An.
Many times we kept reminding ourselves "We're in Vietnam! How cool is this!" now it's over and we are heading to the next country. We have and continue to feel safe throughout our journey, the people are friendly and helpful.
We are writing this from our hotel in Vientiane, the capital of Laos...it's pissin rain here so all we've been doing is relaxing and playing cards. It's off to Vang Vieng in the morning!
Miss you all! Xoxo
C&K
- comments
Samantha Sounds like a lot of fun! Can't wait to hear about your next adventures. xoxo