Thanks to Steve Jobs! and Thanks to our family for the gift of this IPAD! On Saturday we were able to connect with family and friends in Vancouver, Hawaii, Netherlands,New Brunswick and do some business in Laos. All of this was free on Skype!it has been a busy 5 days with most of the time spent in Hanoi and now we are in Ninh Binh about 3 hours SE of Hanoi. Before coming here and in spite of the rain we did alot of walking in the Old Quarter, we attended a cooking class,and we could not resist participating in another laughter Qi Gong session. A highlight of our stay in Hanoi was a tour organized by our hotel to the Perfume Pagoda. This is the site where Buddhism originated in Vietnam 2000 years ago. Getting there by bus and boat was incredible. The bus ride was wild and crazy in keeping with the general chaos that prevails on the streets and highways. But hey we arrived in one or maybe two pieces! We and 6 others were rowed up the river through a tropical jungle for one hour - think about it 6 large people - Australian, Israeli and Canadian- in the pouring rain!It didn't seem to matter; the dollar ponchos did the trick. There was lots of humor in the group to keep us going.
We are now in one of the most beautiful parts of Vietnam - Ninh Binh. Today our hotel organized a visit to a Primate Centre and a 5 km jungle walk. In preparation for the trip Doug put on what he thought was sunblock. When he put it in the airport approved bottle he did not label it so he discovered after putting it on that it was shaving cream! The park was spectacular and the guide's expertise made it a wonderful experience. Tomorrow the same guide
will takes on a river excursion to explore caves.
Trip at a glance
Weather - Mostly rain with temperatures in the early 30s, Sun today
Activities on the horizon - Boat Tour to Caves, Trip to Sapa and Return to Hanoi
Expenses for 2 weeks - average $97 per day (accommodation, food, transportation, tours)
We are still working on the photos and hopefully we willfigureout how to put them in soon.l
Love hearing about your adventures (and the Dougie stories). Look forward to pix of the caves and primates. Does Doug still have his passport??
ReplyDeleteGoing to Van IFF today where it's raining off and on. We're thinking of you. John