Hanoi Part 1 (Liza)

We stayed with a lovely guy called Mike and his family in their house in Hanoi. This is part of a home stay scheme called airbnb. They made us feel very welcome, the room was great and they sorted out useful things like Vietnamese Sims (unfortunately not as easy as it sounds). Our review:-

• Andy and Liza are a wonderful, friendly and hilarious English couple. They got to my home after a very long trip on train in the early morning, but the tireness can't stop the smile on their face. You will feel it that way when you are lucky to be hosted by them. I highly recommend this couple !!

Don't worry Mum, aliens have not abducted me and replaced me on earth with a more jolly replica, he probably just got us mixed up with another couple.

He also introduced us to the couch sharing fraternity in Hanoi. This is another scheme where you register to lend a couch or borrow one but also seems to act as a social group for expats, travelers and Vietnamese wanting to learn English. We had a great evening of yummy food and cheap beer (18p a pint) with them and also met Phuong whom acted as our guide for the day and took us to see the old university called the Temple of Literature.

She is a student and was wanting to practice her English. As a guide she was fabulous explaining the sites and answering all our questions, as someone who knew where they were going not so great. Andy had to get the map out in the end, as we got a bit lost and then proceeded to give the poor girl a map reading lesson. We saw loads of interesting things on route, like the street which had 9 shops which just sold mincers (machines for mincing meat), so it didn't matter at all and was probably the more interesting for it.

She also took us to a fabulous market for a drink. We got to a stall which had lots of food like looking things on it and not drink like looking things at all and ordered for us. Lots of bits and pieces from each food like bowl were put into a glass along with some liquid. We asked what was in and was told that amongst other things it had coconut, beans, corn and rice made into gluttonous sweet balls. It was delicious, really really delicious and probably a once in a lifetime experience because I would not have any clue how to ask for it again.

Oh yeah and the rest of the food we have had here as been as wonderful as I remember.

Ha Long Bay

We had a two day boat tour around Ha Long Bay which is one of the most famous sites in Vietnam. Andy has added some pics bellow, which show this rugged series of lots of little islands which explain how beautiful it is far better than I can.

Ha Long Bay Pictures

We then stayed on the largest island for a week.

So for a week I got my wish of doing nothing and having a break to recover from our departure and your many lovely farewell gatherings.

OK so it wasn't exactly nothing, we got up and had breakfast, we walked to the beach, went swimming, walked to the next beach, went swimming, walked to the next beach went swimming, walked back, had lunch, had a siesta, read for a bit, went for a quick explore to the market etc:, had dinner, read some more, went to bed.

Then got up the next day and did it all over again.

It was lovely.

Hong Kong to Hanoi

Three trains, two days and an introduction to China.

We left Hong Kong and caught the train to Guangzhou East, where we could, we had heard catch the train to Nan Ning, however this train now leaves from the main station in Guangzhou so finding methods of getting from one to another were slightly fraught as we had no Chinese, and no one had any English, the tube signs and directions made no sense whatsoever so we eventually had to get a cab, however even pointing on a map to the cab driver seemed to have no real effect but eventually he called his English speaking mate on his mobile and the problem was sorted.

The over night train to Nan Ning was in the Hard Sleeper, rather than the Soft Sleeper not that that makes any difference to the mattress  a Hard sleeper has 3 high bunks and no doors while the soft has doors, 2 high bunks and a dinner service! So arriving in Nan Ning at 9.00 am revitalised and refreshed we hit the town as our connection to Hanoi left at 5 in the evening. We know we were at somewhere where there were no tourists fairly easily ..... no one tried to sell us anything and everyone stared - if only we could have charged.

We booked a hotel room for a couple of hours... Liza said it was the first time she had done that (!?) for a shower and as a place for us to check in our bags while we provided entertainment for the locals, mind you the market was interesting and the groups of men playing dice on the riverside were the only people not to stare.

Got a soft sleeper to Hanoi and lucked out as we had the carriage to ourselves, although a stop of an hour for the Chinese border at 11.30 - everyone off and bags scanned etc followed by the same again at the Vietnamese border at about 1.30 did not make for a full nights sleep..... Something that you really really need when you then have to deal with the traffic chaos that is Hanoi.... A city of true glory, stupendous food, beer at 18p a pint (which now I come to think of it is cheaper than when I had my 1st bar job in 1978) where we met some really great people and of which  a fair bit more later.

Hong Kong thoughts

Well as we have now left HK and are on our way to Hanoi so before the sieve of memory fades I thought I'd  put down some impressions, ok for anyone who has been there for more than four days, and has had more interaction they may seem just  plain wrong, so be it. Any additions, corrections clarifications greatly appreciated.

1. Transport of all sorts seems to work with effortless ease. We made it through the airport and were moving on a bus into town in under an hour, all well signed and announced. We failed to get really lost at all, which is almost a shame as finding your way out of places can be almost as much fun as doing what you intended. We became habitués of the Star Ferry, which charges between 24p and 40p a crossing depending on the time of day and day of week ( not sure why Sundays are more expensive but we really didn't worry about it as it's a real bargain) The ferries out to the outer islands are just as cheap and we had a great day doing ferry/bus/cable car/tube off on Brent's recommendation to see the Big Buddha, and yes it's main feature is as advertised. I loved the friendliness of the street crossings. They make a gentle 30 beats ber min plock plock plock when on red, which changes to a faster 80 beat/min plick plick plick when it is time to move. The vernacular up to near the top of the peak was fun, as was the stroll to the summit. I couldn't understand why no one else seemed to complete the journey but as there seemed to be no one there trying to sell you anything this probably explained it.

2. Shopping. Hong Kong revolves around shopping, for those who think that London has shopping centres, Westfields and the like then, sorry, what London has is small little congregations of shops inside somewhere warm. Hong Kong has shopping centres, and as the whole of the pedestrian life of the town revolves around them this created a bit of an issue to me as a habitual avoider of such places. You cannot really get anywhere walking along the pavements, you are quickly diverted down subways while crossing the road, thus ending up in another mall. The only way into the tube is through the mall. The only way to the museum is through the mall, the only way to cross most of the roads is through the mall! How the place can support all the retail outlets of all sizes, types and specialisations is something of a mystery. Not only is it the main streets, but the side streets and the side, side, streets that are humming with not only shops but also shoppers. It was not until I realised that a significant number of the Chinese were also tourists that we began to understand how the place worked. Now we have left and been on a train out of the city for well over 3 hours and have not left suburbia that you get to grasp the size of the hinterland in which it operates.

Kerry, our ex flat mate now working as a nanny in Hong Kong made a very pertinent observation which I think captured a significant cultural difference:- the second European family arriving on a deserted beach would pitch themselves as far away from the first family as possible to give each other space. A Chinese family would assume the first family had found the best spot and consequently pitch themselves as close as possible.

Things that made us smile:-
1. It is easier to buy cold coffee in cans that it is to get hot coffee.
2. you can buy a cold can of mixed tea and coffee.
3. jellyfish is edible, just fairly tasteless with a texture of rubber bands – will not go down as a favourite.

While we are taking photos I don't think that this will be the place for Liza and I at.....

However pictures that amused us:-

A slope register! well how much classification do you need!

A deliberate mis-translation to lull us into a sense of our own superiority I think!

Have now safely arrived in Hanoi after an interesting 2 day train journey across China.

Meeting old friends and fun with visas.

We had a lovely time last night crossing the harbour on the Star Ferry (v expensive as tourist rate is 20p each) and meeting our old housemate and friend Kerry who is working here as a nanny. She took us to one of her favorite restaurants  where we had a very nice meal, caught up with her various travels and adventures and got further does and don'ts in Hong Kong..... Not that there seemed to be much don'ts as we've found the place very friendly in an abrupt sort of way.

We are now sorting out our onward travel plans and are now into the joys that are dealing with the necessity of obtaining a visa for travel to mainland China. So with what I expect will be a story of many parts over the year we are proud to introduce a subsection to the blog:-

Fun with Visas!
Part 1.... Colour
We need a visa for China so we can travel to Hanoi on the train, knowing this we came prepared, with a whole A4 glossy set of passport photos of each of us and the A4 sheet uploaded to the online drive so we could get at it anywhere BUT, nowhere does it say that China wants these pictures with a BLUE background.

We have now wandered round the market and got ourselves a set of blue background pictures. The visa applications should be in soon and hopefully we can get the necessary paperwork to catch the trains on Tuesday to Hanoi. This may change.... watch this space

Our last European missive.

Well after all the rushing around here we are at Gatwick, checked in and waiting for departure.

The last week or so has been a whirl. Finishing work, good bye parties and moving out of our flat. It was one hell of a squeeze but, thanks to my Sister-in-law Julias long arms, all our stuff is now in our attic at our flat in East London.  Thanks to everyone else who has helped us with our final preparations, we couldn't have managed without you.

It was great to see everyone at our party on Saturday and I hope you had as good a time a us.  If you didn't already heard thanks to an M25 carpark we were an hour and a half late to our own party. Oops. As we have great friends however every one mucked in and all was well.

Finally thank you all for your kind texts, emails, going away parties and gatherings and general well wishes.

So sitting here a little bit sad because I will miss you all and ever do excited because now it really begins.

Last day of relaxation in London for a while.

Have been to the Saatchi Gallery, we recommend the Chess sets exhibitions and were very impressed with the moving nudes; alas no pictures. A last walk around Kew. From tomorrow will be running round like blue arsed flies.