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We arrived to Vietnam's capitol of Hanoi at 6:30 am and the city was already racing alongside of us. We felt pretty well rested after our overnight train and jumped in a cab to our Hotel. We had booked ahead of time and were pleasantly greeted by the receptionist, Emily with a smile and so much hospitality! She told us she had been waiting for us since 5:30 am and had a room for us to rest and shower in before our actual room would be ready. We had some breakfast and showered and then we were shown to our actual room, which was decorated with flowers, balloons and even our very own "Happy Honeymoon" cake! That day we walked around the Old Quarter and the popular lake and had some dessert and relaxed. Although this city is not as busy as Ho Chi Minh city, the traffic still seems just as crazy! Four people to a motor bike, women carrying loads of produce that seem way to heavy to bear, and non stop honking :) That evening we walked to a guide book recommended restaurant and paid way too much...but we did get a yummy dessert! After dinner, we headed to a Traditional Vietnamese water puppet show, whiich I'm not really sure how to describe. It was not supposed to be humorous, but Ryan and I found it pretty entertaining. You'll have to check out the photos to get the full affect.
The following morning we headed out by bus to our tour of Halong Bay! We were really excited to board a traditional Junk (Vietnamese boat) and cruise along Halong Bay for the night. We had a 3 bus ride filled with very bumpy roads, but we were pleasantly surprised on arrival to see the beautiful landscape that unfolded in front of us. Halong Bay is comprised of 2000 mini islands that are just breathtaking. It has become very commercial and there were up to 800 boats, but it didn't take away from the serenity and beauty. We boarded our ship and checked into our room, which was so nice! We met some really nice couples from Australia and the US and had huge portions of delicious seafood for lunch. Later that day we headed to the "Amazing cave" and climbed a whole lot of stairs, but it was well worth it. We then had a tea/coffee break on the top of the Junk for the sunset and then off to dinner.
The next day after breakfast, Ryan and I kayaked and didn't even get into a marital dispute...we actually made a pretty good team! After a quick shower we learned how to make fried spring rolls and then headed back to the dock and on to Hanoi.
The last couple of days we have been exploring this historic city and eating some great Vietnamese dishes and I have to admit some tourist type comfort foods too! (We can't wait to eat Grandma and Nonie's Mexican and Italian food) We went to a really interesting Museum, The Museum of Vietnamese Ethnology and learned about the different ethnic and indigenous groups in Vietnam and Southeast Asia and their histories. Our favorite part of the Museum was going into the traditional houses of each group...really fun. I think the picture will do a better job of explaining this.
Now we are off to Luang Prabang in Laos and saying good bye to Vietnam. We are looking forward to our hour journey by AIRPLANE :) and the foretold peace and tranquility of the city!
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