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Hi all,
We are writing this from Hoi An but we will begin with the last day in Hanoi :-). Although Hanoi was a bit manic at first we grew to love it. The Vietnamese people seem a lot friendlier than the Thais. So we decided to explor the main sights of Hanoi, first stop was Ho Lao Prison which is now more of a museum focusing mainly on the Vietnamese struggle for independence over france. The prison was definately worth seeing as they still have the cells and many of the tools that were used to torture thẻ prisoners so it was slightly scary but enjojoyable.
Next we went for ă wander around Ho Kiem Lake. In the middle of the lake there is a temple which holds the embalmed remains of the giant tortoise which is believed to have stolen the sword from a king and inhabit the lake ever since. Whether this is true we don't know but the tortoise was pretty cool. After the lake we did some shopping they have hundreds of designer shoes that even if they are fake they seem real. Vic managed to get a bargain pair of VANS for $10 so she was v happy :-).
Our last visit in Hanoi was to see a water puppet show which is famous in Hanoi. To sum up i would say ths was an experience but overall very bizarre. The show was baased around the history of Vietnam so it was quite interesting buit the puppets were just funny at one point an arm fell off and was floating around for the rest of the show!! The man next to us was less impressed and was asleep for the entire show! All in all Hanoi was great.
Next we took a mamouth 24 hour 2 bus journey to Hoi An. It was a sleeper bus a bit like National Express but with about 30 beds so it was cramped to say the least. We turned up to get our tickets I (Vicki) had a ticket at the back which had three beds next to eachother whereas Sarah managed to get a bed that was a single bed. The two Vietnamese guys sleeping next to me were rather creepy and at one point I woke up and he was holding my hand :-( Haha!! Anywho after one broken bus (so 3 buses) we made it to Hoi An Finally!!
Hoi is a really nice place and is rather quiet compared to the busy vibe in Hanoi. The weather has been amazing so we have been working on our tans. It has been nice to relax for a few days! On our first night we met up with two of our belgium friends from Halong Bay and we had to deliver Andreas' laundry as he left it in Hanoi. They took us for dinner to say thank you and we spent the rest of the evening drinking coctail buckets :-).
Day 2 we spent at the beach which was lovely. In the evening we went into a tailors as Hoi An is the place for tailors they are everywhere!!!! The one we went to was a family business and they were great. Sarah had a dress made and got very excited everyday as she kept going back to try it on and make adjustments the end product is awesome and she was even swayed to have a top made last minute. They are now both hopefully on route to Bristol as she has poosted them home (when we say posted a lady arived on a moped with her bag and a peice of paper with the address) so who knows where they are now! The estimated time of arival is June haha. Ps there is a little suprise for Rose :-) but Sarah has advised that Geoff should open the package first Hehe.
Our final evening started great with an amazing meal which consisted of Steak and Onion pie :-) however our evening soon changed when we arived back at the hotel to find a huge beetle/cockroach type creating roaming around the room! Sarah stepped up and managed to trap it in a glass! Woohhooooo (we may need this to be identified so check the picture when there up for an ID).
Today we are heading further south the Nha Trang which is also meant to be nice. So we will be in contact from there ...
Lots of Love
Vicki and Sarah xxx
- comments
Rose & Geoff Wilmer I want to know what is in the parcel and why does Geoff need to open it????? Still loving the blog, it makes me laugh - keep enjoying yourselves and watch out for those bugs!!!!! Stay safe Lots love Rose & Geoff xxxxx
Dee and Graham It all sounds wonderful especially the tigers, elephants and monkeys. Don't fancy the bugs though! Take care of youselves.