Dec 31, 2009 - Ha Long Bay Cruise

We needed a break from our travels and city life in general.We needed a break from our travels and city life in general....

Dec 28, 2009 - Hair of the Dog

Those of you who have pets or adore animals may not want to read this but the story has to be told.Those of you who have pets or adore animals may not want to read this but the story has to be told....

Dec 26, 2009 - Ho Chi Mihn - What a Guy!

Spent the afternoon walking to the Ho Chi Mihn mausoleum (which was a trip in itself, as is everything here in Hanoi)only to find it is open mornings only. ... Almost ended up in the Hanoi Hilton myself today. ... Innocently strolling around the parade grounds by the mausoleum, I strayed into a restricted area which instantly turned a very peaceful, quiet and benign morning into an international incident, whistles blew, guards in white uniforms scrambled to their battle stations and locals waved and pointed at my foot which had strayed over a white line on the pavement.Spent the afternoon walking to the Ho Chi Mihn mausoleum (which was a trip in itself, as is everything here in Hanoi)only to find it is open mornings only. ... Almost ended up in the Hanoi Hilton myself today. ... Innocently strolling around the parade grounds by the mausoleum, I strayed into a restricted area which instantly turned a very peaceful, quiet and benign morning into an international incident, whistles blew, guards in white uniforms scrambled to their battle stations and locals waved and pointed at my foot which had strayed over a white line on the pavement....

Dec 23, 2009 - Hanoi Vietnam

Just a note to let everyone know we are safe in Hanoi at the Golden Sun(Lakeside) Hotel. ... Christmas Eve I took Nickie out for a great meal at an upscale restaurant (Little Hanoi) and lavished $680,000 on her. ...

Dec 19, 2009 - Meeting the group

We finally met up with our biking buddies last night.We finally met up with our biking buddies last night....

Dec 18, 2009 - shits and scams

Well it had to happen.Well it had to happen....

Dec 14, 2009 - Hanoi - Day Two

We had a lovely sleep in this morning (apart from the chhurch bells ringing around 5am.We had a lovely sleep in this morning (apart from the chhurch bells ringing around 5am....

Dec 13, 2009 - Hanoi - Day One

Well two very tired and somewhat grumpy girls arrived in Hanoi today! Thankfully our transfer met us at the airport! Our bags were the last ones off the plane - which didn't really add to the mood. ...

Dec 5, 2009 - Kung Fu Bus to Hanoi

Well the overnight bus to Hanoi was not as bad as expected we had our own berths, which Sarah bagged as quickly as possible having noticed the rugby scrum of locals diving for a seat. ... Next thing we knew, we woke up at 6am in Hanoi. ... The more we spoke with her the more we realised that this was not our hotel and we had been the victims of a Hanoi shuffle. ...

Dec 3, 2009 - To Halong Bay and Back!

Koto has had much publicity in Australia - its a restaurant that teaches street kids how to cook and some of the graduates have gone on to work in the top hotels and restaurants in Hanoi. ... Day 3: Back to the harbour and the bus to head back to Hanoi. ... It was a long trip back to Hanoi as we hit a traffic jam. ... I'm now back in Hanoi and we're about to go and catch the overnight train to Hue. ...

Nov 20, 2009 - Top Gear Tour of Duty

Landed in Hanoi after a rather delightful 1 hour flight from Luang Prabang in Laos. ... After the idyllic environment of Laos, where all you here is the chime of the locals saying 'Sabadee" as you walk by, Hanoi was quite frankly menacing. ... I'd quite clearly stated my destination of Hanoi Backpackers'hostel from my trusty big yellow bible (the lonely planet of S. ... I was characteristically prepared for this, having devoured the Hanoi section of the ol' bible and was gratefully taken to my place after some fair but firm objection on my part. ... I was very relieved to find a very friendly place and despite being full of and partly staffed by Westerners this was a good thing in a place like Hanoi. ...

Nov 20, 2009 - Hanoi - Nov 16-20

Once at Hanoi, we had to queue for our visas, a process which was remarkably inefficient and time-consuming! Rather than get our visas ahead of time, we were “informed” that the quickest way was to get an online approval letter and queue at the airport. ... Having gotten our bags quite quickly and left the airport, we found our pickup waiting for us and we ventured off into the Hanoi traffic which was an experience in itself. ... The scooters and bicycles were everywhere and the road seemed to have a hierarchy – buses stopped for no-one, cars only stopped for buses, scooters stopped for buses and cars and pedestrians stopped for everyone! This resulted in a few close calls as the cars just pulled out without looking and expected the bikes to stop, which they generally did! We checked in at the hotel and headed straight for the room and pretty quickly we fell asleep – we didn’t have much time around Hanoi and 2 of our 3 days we were going to be out in Halong Bay so we wanted to be fresh for tomorrow for a full day, especially as we had to visit the US Embassy, too. ... Our hotel is in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and the streets here and narrow and compact. ... Even a stop at a tacky tourist place didn’t help ease the pain on the buttocks much! We arrived at the Halong City to catch our boat around 4 hours after leaving Hanoi and once our passports had been checked we boarded the junk boat. ...