We made it!!

Hey guys! We did make it into Hanoi late Sunday night but due to internet issues I haven't been able to do a post until now. But we did arrive, safe, sound and with all of our luggage! It's been a nice couple of days. The first was spent in Hanoi where we walked around the Hoan Kiem lake and explored the city. The lake was nothing extraordinary and was very polluted, like most of the waterways seem to be in Vietnam. The buildings are an interesting site to see. Some show the French influence. All homes are very narrow and tall - which Steven said was due them being taxed on the square meters the front of the home took up; hence, narrow homes! For our first dining experience, we went to a restaurant called Bun Cha where locals gather on little stools to pick vermicelli noodles, beef, mixed herbs, garlic and chiles into a small bowl with fish sauce and fried spring rolls. Very tasty, I thought, but I'm sure we wouldn't want to see the kitchen.

Today we traved 3 1/2 hours north of Hanoi to Halong Bay where we boarded a "junk boat" for an overnight cruise. The cabins we stayed in were nice and the staff was wonderful. Food - eh, it was ok. The scenery was beautiful but it would have been nice to have some sun. It's been chilly and cloudy every day so far but hopefully that will change and the sun will peek out for a bit when we travel south to Hoi An. (pictures to come soon!)

Overall it's been very similar to other Asian coutries we've visited - a lot of pollution, trash and crazy traffic. We haven't been runover by a motorbike yet, so that's good! Tomorrow we set off for Ning Bing! Woohoo!