Da Nang and Marble Mountain

We drove through Da Nang, past the remains of the American Air Base and stopped at Marble Mountain.   Guest houses and resorts that are being built everywhere along China Beach home of the famous evacuation hospital, where American Soldiers came to recover. We took the elevator up ( an eye sore on the side of the mountain) to the first level.  At first we were a bit disappointed.  The view was nothing special and it seemed like just another pretty pagoda, but as we began to explore it became more interesting.  There were tons of little passages and caves.  Some tiny and some huge like the one with the big buddha.  We found out that the caves served as one of the bases for the Vietcong which has a good look right on to the beach.  The narrow, steep, slippery steps made us glad we opted to take the lift up but we used them on the way down. 

Hue/ Citadel

The Citadel was hands down our favorite place today, despite the various renovations going on. 

Hue/ Perfume River

We woke up at 3am to catch our flight to Hue, located in the middle of the country.  On arrival, we were greeted by the rain and our new guide "T". He was our most knowledgeable guide on this trip and lots of fun.  He finished every sentence with "yesss?" and started laughing hysterically when he told jokes.  He even left us a bottle of the local rice wine to try at our hotel.
 We headed to the Perfume River where the next boat awaited.  We were told it would be a one way trip and our driver would meet us at the end.  This time, the lady on board, in hopes of selling us something, gave us a complete fashion show with everything from dresses to PJ's in her french manicured toes.
Out first stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda, the tallest in Vietnam. Then several more stops...Hochen Temple, Ming Mang Tomb.

Our guide "T"

Hoa Lo Prison "Hanoi Hilton"

Not on our original itinerary, but because we had some time this afternoon we decided to visit Hoa Lo Prison. Originally one of the biggest prisons built by French colonists in Indochina.  It was later used to hold American prisoners of war who sarcastically dubbed it the "Hanoi Hilton".  Only part of the prison remains and it includes photos and displays of some of the "guests", including Senator John McCain. 

Toilet

Escape Route

Ho Chi Minh

This morning we were prepared to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  To view his enbalmed body visitors must leave all bags outside, speak in hushed tones and keep hands out of pockets.  Unfortunately, when our guide arrived, he informed us that although this visit was on our itinerary, the mausoleum is closed on Mondays.  We had to settle for a walk around the complex and a look at where he lived when he was alive.  We tasted the delicious "milk fruit"  and hung out with this year's graduating class who lined up to take pics with Raf.  On to lunch for a delicious fish fry specialty at Cha Ca La Vong.

Ha Long Bay

This UNESCO World Heritage site was truly impressive.  The drive from Hanoi was about 4 hours but well worth the trip.  Although the sun evaded us for most of the day, it was one of the highlights of our travels.  We made the mandatory stop disguised as a bathroom stop, at a marble, silk embroidery, Pringles factory on the way.  (We had made many of these factory pit stops in China where you are taken into see people working on local craft: sometimes kids, sometimes handicapped.)
Ha Long is a wealthy city that is developing rapidly.  The roads were devoid of potholes and we saw  many new, tall buildings.
Although our boat could have easily fit 30 people, we had it all to ourselves.  We visited several floating villages, shopped on the river and Bob got suckered into buying 4 large prawns for 800,000 dong($38)...after all, we are millionaires here, but I think we all need to work on our negotiating skills.  We had lunch prepared and served on board.  Boats pulled up along side of ours, and kids would jump on and try to sell us things.  We also had a sales presentation by the girl on the boat before we got off.  Communist or capitalist country?  Hard to tell.

Night Market

Saturday and Sunday nights are market night in Hanoi.  People sell their wares under tents.  It looks like they picked up their piles from the closed storefronts and moved them to the middle of the street.

Clean Air?

Lots of people here wear masks on the street.  The fumes from the scooters are overwhelming.  We had a masked visitor waiting for us when we returned to the hotel. Roger, who teaches at FIU and is a frequent guest in my classroom is traveling in the area and stopped by to visit.

Hanoi Traffic

It is well known that crossing the street is the greatest danger to tourists in Vietnam. Although a bit intimidating at first, the trick is to take a deep breath, step off the sidewalk and pray that the cars and gazillion of scooters will just steer around you.  Walk at a steady pace, don't stop and if you're lucky like us, you'll end up right in front of a foot massage parlor.  Our friends agreed to join us (we were provided plaid boxer shorts when we walked in and told to change) and 70 minutes and $7.00 later, we were ready to walk just about anywhere.

Hanoi Day One

I tend to forget what torture these long trips actually are (especially in coach).  Frankly, if I did, I'm not sure I'd keep doing it.  Nine hours after the first flight from Miami to Paris, then 11 hours to Hanoi, not including delays. 
Now that we're here, after about 26 hours, it's 7 am and we're ready to go.  We have one free day in Hanoi and we plan to make the most of it.  Our friends, Danny and Bob arrived last night so they should be rested.

We booked our private tour from a local company, Footsteps Travel, recommended by a friend who used them recently.  We thought it would be a good idea to have a guide but weren't willing to sit on one of those big busses and eat meals in touristy places.  This way we had much more flexibility and ample opportunities to mingle with the locals.

Checked in...not a large room by western standards, but clean and comfortable.  Right in the heart of the old quarter.  We headed to Hoan Keam Lake for a much needed walk and some strong Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed milk.  (I know I don't even put sugar in my coffee, but we had to try it and it was surprisingly good)  We did the mandatory Pho for lunch and it was yummy!

Vietnam/Cambodia Delayed

Although I wasn't able to post while I was traveling,  I did manage to write a bit of our experiences and will begin posting tomorrow.  This was a truly amazing experience...enjoy!

Technical Difficulties

Hey everyone. Having a great time but experiencing technical difficulties and not enough time to research solutions.I welcome any suggestions on how to best upload photos from ipad to blogger.
Test

Vietnam Here We Come

Stay tuned everyone for the next adventure. This time I'm posting from an IPad. Inspired by all the other travelers out there, Im attempting to reduce the amount of bags I usually make my poor hubby carry. Althought I highly doubt I can manage this trip with only carry on luggage.

Parilla

I'm glad we didn't read the poor reviews on Yelp before stopping at this place.  It was our last day in SF, and we just wanted to do a little blogging and chillin'.  We had just enjoyed some amazing oysters at Swan's and this sign that read,"Happy Hour,  Margarita Pitchers" jumped out at us from the sidewalk down the block.  Our server set us up with an internet connection while he entertained us with interesting stories about the immigrant experience in San Francisco.  Margaritas were delish!