The further north we headed, the colder it got....
Our first morning, we woke up to this:
Rain, rain and more rain and much cooler temps.
Our hotel was situated in the old quarter of Hanoi, lots of
atmosphere, street food and lots of traffic! If we thought Saigon
was crowded and had crazy drivers, crossing the roads in
Hanoi was like going out on a suicide mission:
We actually saw a local crossing the street, texting, and
without looking up once to check the traffic! We weren't
quite so bold- we took the large hotel umbrella and waved it
around like mad women as we crossed the streets! It must have
worked as we survived! But I really don't want to go through the
that again!
So, bundled up against the elements.... we headed out:
Fresh food delivery to street vendors
Mobile shops- that's the way to do it!
Lots of tropical plants in planters along the way:
And Notre Dame Cathedral, a relic of the French influence in
Vietnam - sadly in need of repair and closed during
the day:
A Nativity scene behind the church:
A stop at the Propaganda Poster shop- you have to be
of a certain vintage to appreciate some of these....
And also interesting to see the war from "the other side".
I loved this: " A grain of rice is a grain of gold"
(This trip really made me appreciate what I have.....)
So I bought a print, hand painted on rice paper.
I also liked this cheery fellow but he wasn't for sale!!
Later on that week, we went on a tour to Halong Bay,
Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is
very popular with tourists. It is composed of limestone
karsts and bays and is utterly gorgeous- unfortunately
the weather didn't cooperate! It was freezing!
At Halong Bay we were greeted with Vietnemese music:
And more Christmas trees. Tet isn't for a few weeks. This year,
Christmas seems to have gone for ever!
We had a great lunch on board our boat:
Watched the locals take tourists to the limestone
caverns by boat:
And froze our butts off!
And......the very best part of travelling..... meeting people
from all corners of the world:
Isabella from Portugal
Lexie, a magazine writer from North Carolina
And this lovely couple from Australia via India.....
Yvonne and Jay. They have travelled extensively and are an
inspiration - she's 73 and he's 69!! And they don't mind me telling!
They must be doing something right!
En route to the boats, we were dropped off here:
This ended up being a tourist trap- there were coach-loads of
tourists being dropped off here, no choice - the place was unheated
and the prices were triple the prices elsewhere. But, I do have to share
the crafts as all were exquisite and typical of Vietnamese craft:
Hand carved boxes
Marble and jade statues:
Hand embroidered silks:
The quality of the work is superb.....
Silk ties and silk wall hangings.....
Figurines of every description:
Enamelled boxes of all shapes and sizes:
Sorry to bore you with all of this - but the work was outstanding!
Paintings and hand-embroidered silk artwork:
If you enlarge the photos you can see the handiwork and
attention to detail.
If I could, I would have bought one of each!
Cast-iron gongs.
And my very, very favourite.... It's a good thing we ran out
of time!
And also, it was waaaay to cold to get undressed! The seamstresses
were wearing their coats:
and face masks......
Don't you love virtual shopping? It's like window shopping!! And no
money spent!
I loved EVERYTHING!!!
And on the nerve-wracking drive home......
Just to show what a Philistine I really am......
The Mars bar was mine - it doesn't take much to keep me happy!
The next day and having too much time on my hands.......
I went here, conveniently located a few doors down from the hotel....
The cut was brilliant, the shampoo girl was brilliant and I got my Hanoi
Haircut!!! All for US$18!! Highly recommended. If you enlarge the photo,
you can see my hairdresser in the back. He couldn't speak English, I
couldn't speak Vietnamese but it all worked out in the end! And one
day I may just post a photo of my new haircut!
And later that night....
Hanoi to Heathrow - a long 13 hour trip! And, to the relative peace and
quiet of London! Everything, and I do mean everything, is all relative.....
A great adventure and travel in the Far East - I loved it, a
completely new travel experience for me.
Now to get over the jet lag........
Talk soon
Zoe
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