Is that a tooth in my baguette?

So Luke is on the bus today travelling back from Ha Long Bay eating a baguette, when he looks down and sees a tooth stuck in his bread and thinks Yuk, then Oh, I think it's mine..... His front tooth crown has broken off making him look like a pirate, or USA hockey player. I think that no one is going to mess with his daughter from now on, he looks very mean. We are hoping we might find a dentist who can do an emergency bit of cement work, but it's May day tomorrow so likely they are all on holiday. Oh well, the joys of travel eh?

We've been out to Ha Long Bay, very beautiful area of the South China Sea but definately way too polluted for swimming. We are so used to clear clean ocean in NZ, you forget how it can be elsewhere. Being a Vietnamese public holiday it was very busy, like Malaga on a bad day. But stunning scenery and good kayaking floating among 250 million year old limestone karsts poking out of the water. Lots of eagles crusing by. We had a boat to ourselves, our guide skipped all the queues and we were out on the water eating delicious seafood lunch within 20mins. Perfect.

Can't post photos yet but have finally figured out how to do this so might be able to later.

Anyway, now is Bia Hoi o'clock and we are about to head out with our group, which is a good bunch of Kiwis, Aussies and one Canadian. Nice people to travel with so we are pretty lucky.

Ma and Pa, thanks for the email.

Hanoi, day 3.

Finally access to a computer! Not that I miss it.

Well it's a bloody long way to Vietnam, 24 hours, 3 flights, 4 plane meals (Ugh) and 24hrs hours later we arrived in Hanoi's old quarter. 4 million people live in this city, the population of NZ. It's a big old bustling place, people packed in and most of them on mopeds. Today's temperature 31degrees and humid. We've spent 3 days in a very nice hotel getting our bearings, and getting over the jet lag. In between sleeps and cool showers have ventured into the frenetic pace of the old quarter, walking around the small streets dodging moped drivers, shopping and snacking on devine Vietnamese food. There is a constant sound of horns which we have gotten used to & many street hawkers (no I do not want a donut, hat, lighter, hammock!).

But Hanoi has a lot to teach us about humility, they are a very tolerant and polite people here. A smile is a very powerful thing and if you are polite back then many things can be achieved and new friendships made easily.

We have visited the Ethnology museum, some impressive temples, markets and lakes. Today we thought we were going to escape to a quiet park and found ourselves in the public zoo, on Sunday and a public holiday. Thousands of families were there and we were definately the ONLY tourists, so that when we sat down to eat icecream we became an exhibit ourselves.

Plenty of delicious food to be had, it's gluten free mecca for Pearl as the staple is rice and nearly everything local based on this so she's pretty happy to be eating spring rolls and dumplings for the first time. Bia Hoi has proven to be another staple, for us anyway, at 30c a glass we can't resist.

Today we've moved onto a much less luxurious 2 star hotel, and are about to meet up with our group, so I'm keeping thís short. Tomorrow we escape the city for Ha Long Bay.

This ancient PC ưon't let me upload photos, the USB port is blocked, so sorry no photos, you'll have to wait for that, but I am taking plenty. Actually I do miss my Mac. Bloody windows.

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Plans and pre-flight jitters

This blog is so you, the ones we so meanly left behind like our boy Isaac (who is full time studying and has no money), can follow our travels in Vietnam over the next month.

Assuming we have access to a computer, at a time when we have the motivation, energy and space to write, I hope to blog every couple of days. If you don't see any new posts for a while don't assume bad news like an attack of dysentery, bird flu, run over by a moped.......just that there is no easy computer access.

Tomorrow is the day we leave, at 6.15 am for a 16 hour journey (don't envy us that!) and today our  bags are packed, last minute shopping done and final arrangements made. I don't know how I travelled in the 80s without internet.

The itinerary in a nutshell goes like this.

Arrive Hanoi and stay for 4 nights, finding our feet and making a bee line for the local cuisine and Bia Hoi, daily brewed fresh beer at 60cents a glass. On the fourth night we change hotels and meet up with our Intrepid group for the start of a 14 day Intrepid tour Vietnam Adventure We head out to Ha Long Bay, then down the coast of the South China Sea to Ho Chi Minh City travelling by local transport and staying in 2 star accomodation. We wanted to maximise time and minimise headaches by organising through Intrepid without compromising on the backpacking feel of the adventure (just to be true to our travelling selves).

Intrepid's Red Lines on a Map

On the 11th May, our tour finishes in Ho Chi Minh City and we have 4 nights of completely un scheduled time to freelance it, depending on what we feel like doing at the time. A few ideas have been suggested such as the Mekong Delta, Cat Tien National Park or hop the border to Cambodia's Angkor Wat. 

Then on the 15th May, we head out to the coast to a beach called Mui Ne, and stay there for 4 days of compulsory complete chilling in our beach pad Shades Resort (ironically run by a woman from Taupo who promises me vegemite toast for breakfast). 

My chair at Shades, Mui Ne. 

After Mui Ne, it's back to Ho Chi Minh for one more night and a last minute shopping and eating spree before flying back to all you guys.......

Watch this space.