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Hi Everyone!
Haha your comments made me laugh this morning when I read them, oh Enzo and Uncle Brian! (I would love to see orcas up close and personal, and I would love to see some photos!)
In the picture about you will see Tortoise Tower. There is a big lake called Hoan Kiem Lake in the middle of Hanoi, kind of like central park but no where as big. It is really pretty and Leanna and I spent the day yesterday walking around the lake and a few other places. There is a story that a long time ago a prince came to discover the lake but a Giant Tortoise popped out of the water and stole his sword, so now the lake is called the lake of the disappearing sword. Okay I will be honest, I can't remember the story exactly, but you get the idea. There is rumoured to still be giant tortoises living in the lake but the last spotting was way back in 2003 so I was a little bit skeptical...until! We were walking back over the bridge and we saw the tiniest little turtle (or tortoise) in the water...he was maybe like 3 inches big!
We also went to Hoa Lo Prison, which is nicknamed the Hilton of Hanoi by the American POW's who were kept there. It is the prison that Jon McCain was kept at after his plane was shot down (Dad, I thought you might find this interesting!). We took the self guided tour through and it was really neat. They had mannequins set up so you could see how the prisoners were kept. It is also interesting to see the bias in some of the museums here. There was a whole room dedicated to show us how well they treated the american prisoners, at christmas dinner, playing pool and basketball, at church.....Leanna and I have a feeling that isn't exactly how it was!
We like Hanoi and our hostel is a lot of fun. Two Australian guys opened it up and it is most like the hostels we stayed in in Europe.We have met a few Canadians staying at the hostel and one of the guys just came from a place called Don Huey (how its spelled, I am not sure) and he said he didn't see another caucasian for two days. He got up one morning and tried to get some breakfast but couldn't get served in 3 restaurants because they thought he was American. He would go in, make hand gestures for a menu and food and they would point to the door. He said by the 4th place he was practically begging and told them he was Canadian, not American and once they understood he had food in front of him in 30 seconds. So I think if you get off the beaten track it is as lot different!
I am SOOO excited for tomorrow! We booked a two day tour to Halong Bay. It is a heritage site and I can hardly wait, it was one of the things I have been looking forward to most! We get to go on kayaks into caves and just chill out on the boat! We will definitely blog about it when we get back so stay tuned and be wishing us some good weather!
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