Hanoi-030706- Am getting very excited about meeting up with Judith.Only a few days until we will be supping cocktails and yapping.A month travelling a seule is good and for me long enough.I have so enjoyed some solitude aswell as meeting some very interesting and fun people but you cannot beat old mates for comfortableness and feeling at ease. It is quite wearing being constantly EN GUARD for any slight mishaps- however, must say that not once have I ever felt ...

Hanoi 030706 The highlight for me was Sunday night at the Hanoi Opera House- where I had a wonderful classical experience- Mozart -Symphony in C major "Jupiter" along with some P Tchaichovsky- Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker - the conductor was as high as a bird bath with the longest shoes imaginable- but boy when he picked up his baton- he created a symphony of shear joy. As always I had a few tears in my eyes- it was simply magical. The enormous ...

03/07/06 Hanoi- An early start loadedme into a cyclo and some serious sight seeing. Hit the Ho Loa Prison which was another sobering occasion but of enornous interest. It all helps to piece together the history of Vietnam and to realise what in fact happened in my life time but until now had not an indepth realisation. Towards the end of the 19th century in an effort to contain the growth and developement of popular anti -colonial movements amongst the Vi...

Hanoi -30/06/06 Silver bird was mode of transport - 1 1/2 hours - instead of 3,000,000 on a bleeding bus. No thinking required for that one! Hanoi is the capital of North Vietnam-The Grand Old Dame of Asia.I might add she is ageing far better than some of her contemporaries.After the Vietnam partition -Hanoi lay static- 40 years later with economic reforms has she got herself back on her feet- and continues to strive into the present charging world. Havi...

18/06/06 Demiliteralized Military Zone-DMZ from 1954-1975 The BenHai river served as the demarcation betweem North and South Vietnam.On either side of the river there was a 5km area and this was known as DMZ line.Ironically as the conflict escalated this area was actually the most militerized zones in the world.In this region, the war was from the air rather than from the land- with massive craters ruining the complexion of anotherwise exceptional landscape....