Vietnam

We had Thurs 20 Mar and Fri 21 Mar off so Laura and decided to spend the long weekend in Hanoi. Many of you who know Rob DeAbreu may also know that he's working in Hanoi. Unfortunately, he was going on a school trip Fri-Mon so we only got to hang out with him on Thurs eve. We arrived in Hanoi Thurs morn, met up with his maid who let us into his place and gave us a key, and then spent the day walking around town. After work, we met Rob who took us out to a nice Vietnamese restaurant (great catfish springrolls!) and out on the town. It was great to see Rob again!


The next day we said seeya to Rob and headed to the East Coast -the famous Halong Bay- to spend a night on a boat in the bay. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great (apparently, it rarely is anymore), but it was still lots of fun to cruise around the karts; plus, I can't seem to get enough of hanging out on boats!
Saturday evening we headed back to Hanoi. We spent the evening and the next half day hanging out in town, checking out little shops, and hanging in cafes watching people go by. The old quarter in Hanoi is a really interesting and very unique area: women wearing conical hats selling goods out of their baskets or bicycles; streets packed with motorcylces, bicycles, the odd car and bus, and pedestrians; and the ubiquitos face mask of motorcyclists.