Historical Ramblings

Hanoi

We're in Vietnam.

I have a very long entry on the laptop about our last couple of days in Bangkok, and I still intend to write about Burirum and the first part of Bangkok, but none of the USB drives on this computer work, so you're just going to have to wait.

We made in into Hanoi last night, after a bit of a delay and a switch of aircraft, and arrived in our hotel, the Hoa Linh Hotel, which is a lovely mini-hotel in the heart of the Old Quarter.

Hanoi is much more what I expected an Asian city to be. It's streets are packed with people on motorcycles. Cars are infrequent and those that do exist are almost always taxis or transportation vehicles. It's dirtier and seemingly poorer than Bangkok, too. Tourist sellers are much more aggressive; about every minute we get approach by someone selling post cards, English-language books, or offering us a ride on the back of his motorcycle. It's less comfortable, but a fascinating experience.

Today we wandered around the old lake, ate lunch at a very nice cafe in the heart of the old quarter, and booked a tour to Ha Long Bay for tomorrow. We wandered around and run into the Ho Chi Minh's masoleum, an enormous concrete building where they intered his remains, despite his wishes to be cremated. Behind the masoleum is a museum dedicated to his life.

Tomorrow we head to Ha Long Bay, which is supposed to be full of beautiful limestone cliffs. After that, on to Hue, Hoi An, and ultimately a short stay in Saigon before we fly out for Singapore on the 1st of July.

More to come!