We have spent a good day in Hanoi, a city that I think I will grow to love (in the winter months, at least). It is all the stuff that I liked about China - the hectic traffic, cheap, lots of neat stuff everywhere - with not so much of the bad stuff - smells, people trying to sell me something every five minutes, smoke, people spitting and smoking all over the place. We spent today taking care of some business and walking around. It's a great city to walk around. we probably walked the same loop two or three times, but everytime there was something interesting to see. Hanoi also has a lot of art galleries, so even if the buildings start to bore us, we can see art for free!
We lucked out and got a great hotel in the center of the city and with really nice staff. The location lets us walk for a bit, come back and rest, then head out again and repeat as much as we please. I headed out a good five times today. It was great. (the picture is the view from our balcony, by the by)
We lucked out and got a great hotel in the center of the city and with really nice staff. The location lets us walk for a bit, come back and rest, then head out again and repeat as much as we please. I headed out a good five times today. It was great. (the picture is the view from our balcony, by the by)
One of the things that makes Hanoi so enjoyable to walk around is the foilage. There are trees - great rtess - everywhere. You can't walk down any street here without looking up and seeing some trees. It does wonders to keep the air clean from all the scooters and it gives such a nice visual anytime one looks up. Below-left is an average street view, below-right is one of the many trees that we found to be magnificent.
Hanoi is also known as a city of lakes. It was originally built between two rivers and as such has given the area a good number of lakes. Close to our hostel is a rather nice one with a good building built on the small island in the middle. It made a pretty nice place to stroll around, kind of like Greenlake in Seattle but with more droopy vines and trees.
Since we were in Vietnam, we had to have Pho. It was great.
Below the "Pho"tos (wakka, wakka) are pictures of something called Xoi (pronounced "Soi), which was really good too.
Below the "Pho"tos (wakka, wakka) are pictures of something called Xoi (pronounced "Soi), which was really good too.
For the next three days Shiz and I won't be updating the blog. We are going to spend two nights and three days in Halong Bay on a cruise. It's a little bit out of budget for us, but as we have our train tickets for the rest of Vietnam, we're hoping to go light and get out of here just slightly above budget. Plus, once we get to Cambodia, we'll be living easy at Angkor Wat for a week.
We made China a bit harder than it should have been with too much travel and too much cold, so we're treating ourselves for a little bit with three days of cruising around gorgeous limestone rocks, kayaking through gorgoues limestone rocks, and snorkeling around gorgeous limestone rocks. As you can tell, there will be a theme.
So we will be incommunicado for three days as we relax, kayak, snorkel, swim, eat fresh seafood, and do whatever we feel like. We'll be back with pictures!
We made China a bit harder than it should have been with too much travel and too much cold, so we're treating ourselves for a little bit with three days of cruising around gorgeous limestone rocks, kayaking through gorgoues limestone rocks, and snorkeling around gorgeous limestone rocks. As you can tell, there will be a theme.
So we will be incommunicado for three days as we relax, kayak, snorkel, swim, eat fresh seafood, and do whatever we feel like. We'll be back with pictures!