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More from Hanoi!
So when I last wrote we were on our way out to find some back packers and have a few drinkies. On the way out we stumbled across a street market which was so cool - lemmie trell you - the business of Picadilly Circus has nothing on this place! It was rammed and yet no one barged into you (like in China!) and it was mainly locals and was really great! All tat though so we didnt buy anything (apart from some food) but the atmosphere was amazing - people in Vietnam are very sociable - in the day everyone is in the streets working - and at night everyone sits outside together on tiny tables every few feet on each street - families, friends, then tourists a little with them - its lovely. Gemma and I went to a bar/restaurant called City View and to the top floor (there arent any buildings taller than five stories here) and had a bottle of wine and a great view over the main part of the old Quarter - was nice to finally have a glass of wine as well! It closed at 11 so we went onto Le Pub (there is a very strong French influence still in Vietnam) and had cocktails and Jaeger Bombs and chatted to a couple of lads from Brighton - this place closed at 12 and obviously by this point we were well warmed up so moved onto a bar/club called Red Dragonfly where we danced the night away! I even showed some of the locals my fave leg grab dance and Gemma dragged the shy local girls up to dance with us. By the time we'd finished Gemma had to steer me home! We woke up at 9.30am but it felt like it was the middle of thew night due to our windowless dungeon room - needless to say we were feeling rather poorly! Moved to our new hotel room at 12 then ventured out for food but it was so hot we were ready to pass out so we grabbed something and came home- That night was one of the funnest we've had so far though! Was worth the pain the next day! Rebecca arrived at about 9pm and had shared a cab with a young British couple from the airport so the 5 of us went out for a hair of the dog. Back to Le Pub and a couple of beers later I was feeling much better. The mozzies are still loving me long time unfortunately but its nothing new! We got back to the hotel about midnight and went to bed as we had a busy day planned for the following day! We are loving every mintue so far!
The following day we slept til 10.30am and then got up and did our own walking tour of Hanoi using our Lonely Planet, we went to a temple in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake) which is right near our hotel. According to the legend, emperor Le Loi handed a magic sword called Heaven's Will which brought him victory in his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty back to the Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) in the lake and hence gave it its present name. The Tortoise Tower (Thap Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of lake is linked to the legend.
Afterwards we went for some lunch in a posher part of town which did the best spring rolls any of us have ever tasted! We were sitting there, cooling down and eating and talking about how Vietnam is the best place we've ever been and how friendly the people are when suddnely a fight erupted a few feet away and a local punched anothere local in the face which wasnt very nice and slightly ironic!
Then we went and booked a tour to Ha Long Bay for the next day which we were so excited about!
The heat here is like nothing I've ever experienced, its like being in a sauna 24/7 - honestly you do not need make up or hair straightners here! But I think I'm getting used to it now! About 3pm we went back to our hotel to cool down then later headed out for dinner with a view to finding a local fish dish we'd heard was good - we found it and it was yummy. After that we headed back to the hotel for an early night but none of us slept very well.
The next day we were up early for breakfast and to be picked up for the Ha Long Bay tour. It was a 4 hour bus journey which was fine although we were stuck next to a French man who insisted on talking even when you put your ear phones in to listen to music and the road was pretty rough and bumpy. We arrived in Halong City about 12 and transferred to the boat which is lovely and theres only about 8 of us on it. We had a huge seafood lunch on the boat then got off to explore some caves which were pretty cool - we've got a really good guide called Star who took a shine to me (excuse the pun!) We were really hot by the end but cooled down with some kayaking - Bex and Gemma went in one together and Star and I went in one - it was hard work but really fun and the best bit was when Star and I just stopped in the middle of it all and sat back and had a ciggie - was a bit surreal but fun chatting about our families etc. The floating houses were cool as well. Then we went back to the boat and sat on the top deck and did some swimming (even though we'd seen a syringe float by not too long before - gulp!) I went for a shower just at the wrong moment and missed the sunset which was a shame. Had a couple of beers and some more yumalicious dinner then watched the lightening for about half an hour until it started to rain as well, watching the thunder storm from the boat was awesome - it was a shame though as Star had said we could all sleep up on the top deck that night under the stars but due to the rain we couldnt. Bex and Gemma shared a room so it was nice to have my own space for a night and I slept quite well.
Awoke the next day to extreme rain downfall - however it had stopped by the time we had breakfast and stopped at Cat Ba Island - half of this island is a national park so we were sent off to do some trekking - it was like trekking through the jungle and it was scarily dangerous! (And before we started we decided to use the loos and I had to use a communal squat toilet in front of Bex and GemGem - we have no secrets now!) We were literallly scaling the side of a mountain at one point - and some of it was literally vertical climbing. It took over an hour to get to the top and was extremely intense and hot! I was sweating like a P I G! The view from the top was nice and then it was time to come down - exactly the way we'd come up - I was absoluitely terrified and not long into the trip down I fell and if it wasnt for the 3 tourist below (who were on their way up) that caught me I dont know what would have happened. I got such a fright that my legs completely turned to jelly and I shed a few tears (but somehow managed not to soil my pants!) and the 4'5" Vietnamese tour guide lady helped me down the rest of the way (another hour or so) She was small but strong as an Ox! We gave her a good tip when we'd finished (I owed her my life!)
On the bus to the hotel met an Irish guy who was on hol with his girlfriend who cracked me up saying he was on the boat and looked over to the next boat and saw someone he knew and shouted 'Mick!' and couldnt believe his friend from back home was on the next boat - how funny! After lunch in the hotel I spent about an hour scrubbing the trekking mud off my trainers with a toothbrush before a little lie down until dinner time! After dinner we went out on the lash with Star - really good night and played cards and drank lots of lovely cocktails. Bex had a random massage off a guy that was going round the bars and it lasted about an hour and looked great until he tried to crack her neck - ouch - I opted out! When we finally got to bed, Bex was sick all through the night and Gemma and I were awake with her through some of it which was terrible and I really felt for her, especially as we were all so knackered from the trekking!
The following day we were up early to travel back to Hanoi, needless to say we were all feeling rough and tired. We got a bus to the boat and were on the boat for a couple of hours where I stupidly managed to get myself sunburned - I wasnt out for long but could smell burning flesh so went inside but by then the damage had been done! Stupid girl! Then it was the 4 hour bus journey again which was fine as there were hardly any of us on it thank god as we werent sure how Bex was going to hold up!
We said goodbye to Star and checked into a new hotel which is really nice - we seem to have the penthouse apartment (which was an absolute b****** climbing the stairs to with our rucksacks and sore legs from trekking) but its nice all the same. I was absolutely good for nothing by this point (5pm) and feeling very sorry for myself with my hang over and sunburn and mozzie bites so I laid down and the girls went out to fetch me some dinner! We watched telly and read a bit then all fell asleep by about 9 - guess we just cant keep up with these young student backpackers!
Today we woke up after 9 which meant we slept for 12 hours! It was well needed! We had to move to another room as our other one got booked while we werre away (we werent planning to be here tonight but due to the illnesses and sunburn we decided to stay an extra night) then headed out for lunch which was very nice (more spring rolls!) Next stop was the Hoa Lo Prison Museum which is was nicknamed 'The Hanoi Hilton' by US POW's during the American War. It mainly concentrated on the Vietnamese struggle or independence from France and we found it a little bit propaganda-ey but it was good all the same although slightly chilling in some parts (death row cells). Afterwards we took a taxi to the Temple of Literature - the sign at the main entrance requests visitors to dismount from their horses before entering so obviously we did. It was very pretty inside and worth the visit. Next stop was across the road for a drink in a little cafe called Koto which was a 4 story place so we had a drink at the top - but the best part was its a non profit organisation which provides opportunities for former street kids - and they were so friendly and amazing it was lovely.
Next we walked down the where the Water Puppet Theatre is and went in for a show which was really fun - although my attention was taken away from the show for 5 mins when a giant cockroach crawled across the floor in front of us! Apart from that the show was great - the music especially was really nice - traditional Vietnamese music. I liked the Pheonix bit the best - they were in love and laid an egg and the baby popped out!
On the walk home we stopped off at a Pho place that the student we met on our first day recommended but it wasnt great - it filled a hole! Then we came back to the hotel where I am now, we put some washing in yesterday so we got that back today - I'll never underestimate the feeling of freshly washed clothes ever again!
I've tried to get my photos onto the blog (Facebook is banned here too) but the computers here are so crap it takes an hour to upload 5 photos so they will have to wait I'm afraid although I'm dying to get the off my memory stick should I lose my camera. Hopefully we'll find a better internet cafe somewhere soon.
Tomorrow we are doing another tour - we are going to the National Park Sapa which is a ten hour night train journey away and there is going to be more trekking which I'm dreading - but you trek for a day then stay the night with a local hill tribe family so it will be worth it. I hope they have things we can buy from them as it will seem better buying truly authentic stuff.
Over all I am absolutely loving being here, Hanoi is one of the most vibrant exciting places I've ever seen. Everyone speaks fantastic english (unlike China) and we feel very safe.
I better sign off now as Ive been sitting here for about 2 hours next to an open door and I'm pretty sure the mozzies have had a party with me tonight. In fact I've just looked down and seen two fresh bites on my leg - woe is me! But at least the sun burn in calming down.......until next time, much love to you all x
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