D12 We woke early to head to the Ninh Binh province, 100km from Hanoi. It took about 2 hours to get there. The beautiful drive through the countryside was worth it. Rice fields and mountains. This is the Vietnam you see in movies. We arrived to the countryside and got on a small row boat on the river for for a few hours. The path down the river took us through villages in the mountain. Mom and dad saw a group of monkeys but I didn't. TB didn't like it ...

After leaving the temple we went to lunch at a street food restaurant called Ngon Restaurant. I was in hog heaven. The vendors were around the perimeter of restaurant with bustling tables in the center. While waiting for the table I walked around ogling the food, drinking in the smells. We asked Giang to order for us and that he did. Here's our menu: 1. Bang seo-pork and shrimp pancake, it was allright 2. Bun cha-bbq pork with rice noodles, signature ...

D11 Part 1: Good morning Vietnam! We've finally arrived here. Many months ago Jason and I were sitting around the dinner table talking about how we were going to travel to Australia after I finished residency and my mom asked if we were going to go anywhere else. I mentioned we were considering New Zealand or Fiji or Thailand or Vietnam. Dad perked up. "Vietnam? I've always wanted to go there." That settled it right then and there. Vietnam was added to our trip...

D 10: Today we had a long leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Relaxed, chatted, read, wrote, and napped before venturing out into town around 1pm for lunch and a wander. We ate at the best restaurant we've been to so far. Called Manda de Laos, the breathtaking restaurant is a UNESCO World Heritage Site sits on the bank of a huge lily pond. It is an oasis in the middle of the city. And the food was spectacular. We had steamed fish on lemongrass, galangal and k...