With Erwin and Adeline.

A bouquet of sunshine

Heading into Hanoi and then over to Cat Ba in Halong Bay Lou warned me it was going to be cool and overcast and maybe even a little drizzally. He was right and on our first morning in the cool climate I awoke to a bouquet of sunshine. A random kindness and loving gesture that I am so fortunate to experience so often, And yes, these last few days have been chilly, we are sightseeing today around Cat Ba, Lou has just gone to rent a moto (aka motorcycle) don't tell our kids! .... Or my mom! I'm sure Lou will fill you in with his next post. then our plan is to head down the coast of Vietnam to Hue, for some ocean!! I am a known ocean junkie, and am looking forward to a dip and a snorkle. But for now... I'm donning a helmet and heading off.....cheers.....

Holy shit! Hanoi!

Just got into our rooms in the old quarter of Hanoi. Nothing can compare with how manic this place is. We got dropped off by our airport shuttle on the edge of the old quarter just as dark was settling in. Dropped Kim at a restaurant with the bags and went looking for a room (nothing booked).  Got lost. In Hanoi. In the dark in Hanoi. Got found. Went looking for a guesthouse listed in LP. Got close to where that guesthouse is located and started checking other guest houses. This one, Hanoi Lucky Guesthouse, had a room and is cheaper than the one listed in LP (we are $18 a night) and, think a $150 to $200 a night room in Vancouver with 10 ft ceilings and crown moulding and fleur reliefs in the ceiling and mahogany doors baseboard armoire bed and THE MOST COMFORTABLE FRICKING MATRESS EVER! A FRICKING DUVET! One block off the street - five blocks long - that is the night market. Which, I am starving, is where we are going. Later.

Our Hanoi rooms. Heaven!

Viva las visas!

Got our visas for tomorrow at 10 am, fly to Hanoi at 2:40 tomorrow. Au revois Vientaine. 

How to be stuck in Vientaine for $50 a day.

Although we were initially kind of freaked about our situation re: visas for Vietnam, we decided that, "holy crap, we're in frickin' Vientaine and we are going to rock it". Kim suggested a "day in the life" motif for the blog, so here goes. Lots of pictures.

I get up really early (5ish) to go walking, so that part of the day doesn't really count.

When Kim got up, we headed for the bus station, stopping on the way for deep fried, battered bananas and sweet potatoes ( super delicious but we only eat them, two mornings in a row, for health reasons), $0.50. The bus takes one 30 km to the Laos/Thai Friendship Bridge, $1.50, and the outrageously expensive jumbo ($7.50, a big tuk-tuk) the last few kilometres to Buddha Park. This 1/2 acre is jam packed with statues, large and small, but all unusual. The park was build by a "venerable grandfather" who merged the philosophy and iconography of Hinduism and Buddhism and built this concrete (in both senses) representation. It took about an hour to take in this unusual display and cost $1.20.

Jumbo and city bus back to town (and another order of deep fried goodness) and the morning was gone.

We found a great little street vender who served us Thai noodle soup, fried noodles with chicken and a big beer for under $4.00. On one of my mornings wanders I had come across a municipal swimming pool. While the loungers were a bit dated and the area around the pool held a fair bit of litter, the pool was exceptional - clean with just right amount of chlorine. At $2.40 it was the perfect way to waste away a steamy afternoon. Throw in $1.25 for Coke with ice to water our vodka in and it's a bargain.

We dined again at Khop Chai Deu, this time opting for a meal that would suit our plans for later in the evening - beer (really good) and pizza (exceptional smoked chicken) for under $10. And what were those plans? I know, too obvious. Two games at the Lao Bowling Club! Kim waxed me in the first game but I came back to best her in the next. Along with the beers we enjoyed, this sporty interlude came in under $10.

Toss in the $12 a night we are spending on our rooms and this remarkably fun day cost us less than fifty bucks. For the both of us. Pictures of us having too much fun follow.

Deep fried battered bananas and sweet potatoes (this is our second morning of these - we are only eating them for health reasons).