A Kansan in Nam: Hi from Hanoi!

Kat arrived safely from the U.S. in the wee hours of the morning December 17th. We promptly headed up to Hanoi on the 18th--talk about a fast turn around!

We were met with grey skies and much cooler temperatures than Ho Chi Minh City. (We changed into jeans and long-sleeve t-shirts before leaving the airport). We stayed in a lovely little hotel in the Old Quarters called Hanoi Gecko--would highly recommend it to anyone traveling there.

After getting settled into our hotel we headed out to try some bun cha--a famous pork and noodle dish from Hanoi. It was good--until I moved my plastic stool back to take a photo and the leg went into a hole. Luckily my neighbor grabbed me before I went bottom up. Embarrassment serves as an excellent appetite suppressant.


Bun cha!

After lunch we headed off to the Museum of Ethnology with a nice lady we befriended at lunch. The museum was impressive--and offered a live water puppet show outside.

Katrina was suffering from some pretty serious jet lag, so we headed back to the hotel. I headed out shortly thereafter to see some friends from Ho Chi Minh City that were in town. We had $ .25 glasses of beer Hoi (a local brew in kegs--not bad!), sitting on little plastic chairs on the street (literally IN the street) in the Old Quarter.

The next morning Kat and I walked around a bit and saw some museums, but didn't enter as most are closed on Monday. We visited the Temple of Literature and felt so much wiser afterwards.

Temple of Literature

Confucius

We had some interesting culinary experiences later on that day that I won't go into detail about here. Let's just say one meal involved something that barks (we didn't try it), and another involved Indian food with a bite. It revisited me the next morning before leaving for Halong Bay, as well as on our way down in the mini bus. I don't think I'll be having palak paneer anytime soon...

The next day we took a cruise of Halong Bay on the Pearl's Dragon, part of the Indochina Junk company. This is a more expensive cruise that leaves from a different port than the other hundreds of Halong Bay tourist boats. We cruised in Bai Tu Long Bay--a less touristed area. I had heard other folks tell me they were quite disappointed with their Halong Bay cruise--but we couldn't have had a better time. We met a couple from Spain and had a blast hanging out with them, and I got to practice my Spanish again. The only downer was that I was still dealing with stomach issues--so had to be careful about what I ate. This meant that I had to pass up plate upon plate of amazing seafood. Otherwise, it was a perfect trip.

Bai Tu Long Bay


sisters in paradise

Returning to Hanoi, I was able to meet up with my former UQ classmate, Kim and her dad and husband.

UQ reunion in Hanoi

Our final morning in Hanoi, Kat and I went to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace grounds. It was certainly interesting seeing "Uncle Ho" up close and personal... Sorry--no photos. They would have shot me if I'd tried.