One night in Hanoi

Before we left on our trip to Halong Bay I had booked tickets for the Water Puppet Theater for the evening we returned. I read a little about the Water Puppets and thought the kids would really enjoy the show. The Water Puppets are actually puppets that perform in water. If you are interested in the history of water puppetry in Vietnam check out this link.

We were pleasantly surprised by the music and the show. It was a combination of traditional Vietnamese singing and instrument pieces along with a spectacular wooden puppet show in the water. We took some pictures, but it was quite dark and our camera didn't really cut it.





The puppeteers

After the show we headed to a lovely little French cafe for dinner. Jonny and the kids waiting for their food. Angus is now obsessed with Tiger beer! I wonder why???

We were all very tired from our trip to Halong Bay and the Water Puppets. Plus we had to do a little shopping in the morning before we headed to the airport to go south in search for the sun in Hoi An.

And I thought China had a lot of people!!!

We all had a great nights sleep and Gemma and I seem to be on the mend. We decided we would have to hit the Ho Chin Minh Mausoleum to start our day off.



Jonny and the kids at the entrance of the mausoleum.





It was kind of a freaky tour. We had to follow a path all the way to the mausoleum (as seen in the background of this picture), we couldn't step off the path or on the sidewalks. Jonny could not carry Angus in anyway. We all had to walk in a line. The mausoleum itself was pretty cool and "Uncle Ho" is what they refer to him in here, was preserved quite well. The mausoleum building was located in a large park area with some other sites to see. Here are a couple other things we saw in the complex.



Ho Chi Minh Museum



One Pillar Pagoda



After the museum we tried to get a taxi, but they tried to rip us off. We started walking and decided to take our first cyclo ride. I had seen this type of transportation first at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant back in Chandler with the same name, but never dreamed I would actually be riding in one.




The thing that has really been different about being in Hanoi is the traffic. I honestly thought that you couldn't top traffic in China, but this is really the craziest thing I have ever seen. It is organized chaos at its best. Here is a little video snip of our cyclo ride and the traffic of Hanoi.



After our ride back to the hotel we decided to grab some lunch. We went to a little place called Cyclo Bar and were pleasantly surprised to see the cyclo seat at our table. We had our first Vietnamese food of the trip and it was more than yummy! I had my first bowl of pho and some delicious spring rolls! We also had dessert and thanks to the French influence it was scrumptious!

The kids were tired at lunch, so we headed back to the hotel for a little nap. Jonny went and scoped out the area for us and planned the rest of our day. We woke the kids up and headed out to do a little walking tour of Hanoi. Here are some pictures of the tour.



Hoan Kiem Lake



Angus sporting the famous conical hat.



A typical alleyway in Hanoi.



The old gate into Hanoi city.



One of the many temples.



We loved the offerings to the gods, especially the Tiger beer!



We made the mistake of walking down this street. It was literally standing room only.

We had a very successful day and even though there was tons of traffic, I definitely thought we saw quite a bit of the Old Quarter of Vietnam. Tomorrow we are heading out to Halong Bay for couple of days. The kids are quite excited about it because we are taking an overnight cruise on a junk boat. It should be another adventure!

We are in Hanoi!

After a morning, actually an entire day of being quite nauseous (no, I am not pregnant!), Gemma puking in the car on the way to the airport and a horrible turbulence we have made it to Hanoi. I guess we aren't too surprised, but it is freezing here! I was shocked to read that Hanoi actually does have a winter. I assumed the entire country was tropical. We had about a 1 1/2 hour drive from the airport due to rush hour, the upcoming Tet Festival, and more motorbikes that you can imagine. We check into the hotel and I am having second thoughts about my choice in holiday. I think the saddest thing about this is that I haven't been able to eat anything all day and I am in Vietnam with all of their yummy cuisine! I hope I am better tomorrow! I just can't imagine eating anything right now which is extremely out of character for me!!!

On the brighter side of things we were warmly greeted by the staff of our hotel the Hanoi Elegance 3, which is located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. I am very happy to have free wireless plus a heater in the room. I am looking forward to some sleep and hoping for a better tummy tomorrow.