HANOI
Hiya, or should we say Xin Chao!
We finally braved wandering the streets of Hanoi and we've decided the city isn't for us and have booked a 3 day tour out to Ha Long Bay and trekking in Cat Ba National Park which is an island where you can overlook the bay, apparently! We get to sleep on the boat and kayak around the bay and into water caverns, so looking forward to that.
We arrived about 10.30am yesterday to Hanoi airport. It took 3hrs to get out through the "security measures" which was 700ish people trying to get through ONE makeshift customs scanner (Little Britain dude would have loved that footage!) BEFORE we had collected our baggage - interesting concept.

The lady supposedly inspecting the passing through carry on luggage was spending more time telling off the subordinates in the background - it was laughable, except that we were very tired and wanting to lay horizontal with straight legs!!

We had a big 14 hr sleep, Kerry most upset that we missed out on dinner, oh well we just made up for it at this vego place called Tamarind, with weird things like sesame falafels which taste nothing like the dry chickpea ones, as these were amazing, and sweet potato balls with wasabi, peanut cream and garlic. Surprisingly scrumptious and of course can't go past a Pho soup. Yummo!!
Apparently the vietnamese, according to Hien, our booking guide, are apposed to anything disguised as exercise- walking 2 km was considered "very far" and it was advised we take a taxi, yet many cycle and have physically demanding "jobs". (haven't figured that one out yet). Whilst we thought the walk would be good after such a lovely long sleep, the non existent footpaths made negotiating the pushies, scooters, cars and buses a task and is certainly testing our reflexes. I reckon we're best to just walk and they can go around us- apparently to cross the street you just step out, no hesitation and they will stop or go around you. Mite try that one out after luncho.
It's hard to get your head around- much of Hanoi reminds me of india, very dirty streets, rubbish everywhere, broken concrete and bricks, major pot holes and half falling down concrete housing. And yet, to look through some of the windows into these houses they are quite beautiful. We noticed a couple of guys fishing in the lake- not sure that i'd wanting to be consuming the fish that they pluck out of the lake, but i guess its what your accustom too. They were seemingly standing about 10-15m out from the wall of the lake on a post that was just big enough to allow two feet side by side. Have no idea how they got out to this post, cos there was no walkway or makeshift bridge, and their clothes were dry so they didn't swim- a mystery. The 'fly fishing' entailed a pole with eye on the end and a hand held reel with some line. They would swing their body side to side to cast the line then while resting the pole against one hip used the other hand to wind the line around the hand held reel. Very inventive way of fishing! We also passed by a "nursery" that was set up along the pavement 4ft wide from the wall of the Westlake. This was obviously their income, growing pots of azaleas, poinsettias and bromeliads, and then we noticed the card board bedroom at the end of run...mmm...certainly makes you appreciate where you incarnated. Bet some live here and never in their whole life witness the sun or the stars.
We are off now to negotiate our way to a massage place and foot reflexology Vietnamese style. It's amazing how your legs ache when you walk on concrete compared to earth.
Hooroo.