Vietnam

Hanoi

We arrived in the crazy city of Hanoi with scooters for Africa.  We loved the vibe of this city.  After a minor issue getting Visas to enter ( I had printed the incorrect size photos) we arrived at our hotel 3B Hanoi which was in the hub of the old town and backpacker district.  We loved this area and were able to explore easily.  While in Hanoi we saw a water puppet show, walked the streets and discovered dog Street and visited Ho Chi Mins Palace.  We were fascinated just people watching in this place, looking at how they do everyday tasks like fixing power lines - definately no health and saftey officers here.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Halong Bay

What a magical place.  Just a 4 hour ride from Hanoi.  We booked a 1 night cruise with Galaxy Tours.  The boat was very cool and our cabin extremely compact.  We visited some amazing caves and the kids were even brave enough to take a dip in the ocean although when you see how many boats are in the bay not sure that I would be keen to swim here.  We ran into Mr and Mrs Thomas (Dom and Ayton) from our school which was an extra treat.  Mackenzie and I provided evening entertainment on the boat by singing ABBA at Karoke.  Maybe it was getting late or we were really bad but we cleared the room pretty quickly.

Hoi An

After a 2 hour delay in the very primitive airport of Hanoi we arrived in Da Nang just out of Hoi An.  Hoi An is a beautiful well preserved city with a lot of french influence in the architecture and is famous for its Tailors.  We had clothes made here and were very pleased with the results. Samuel and Bevan had matching shorts made.  We stayed in some very nice accommodation just out of the centre called Hoi An Riverbeach Resort.  We had fun wandering the streets and getting a pedicab for the kids when necessary.  We also managed to bump into Mr and Mrs Thomas here again :) and invited them to our resort for a drink.  We could of stayed a lot longer in this beautiful city with amazing restaurants but alas after 3 days it was time to move to our next destination.

VinPearl Land

We spent Christmas in this childrens paradise with the Turner family.  Vinpearl land is an isalnd just off the coast of Nha Trang.  We arrived in Nha Trang via sleeper train which was not the best experience in the world - we had to kick some people out of our booked cabin by which time they had been there awhile and used the clean sheets and it smelled a little off.

We arrived at Paradise and checked in quickly.  The pool at the resort is supposed to be the biggest in South East Asia.  Attached to the resort is a water park and amusement park where much fun was had by all although they were very strict on height so poor Samuel missed out on a few rides.  The resort included all the food you could eat and judging by all the Russians there they sure could eat alot of food and are not known for their queuing etiquette.

Ho Chi Min (Saigon)

We flew into the busy metropolis of Saigon and quickly found the backpacker district.  Upon making enquiries we opted on a tour to the Cue Chi tunnels.  We were taking a half day tour on 19 seater bus. The Cue Chi tunnels were incredible, so amazing to see the conditions and traps in the jungle.  Unfortunately the tour was not the best.  Our guide was also the guide for a 46 seater bus and the half day tour didn't return until 4pm with no lunch stop.  Samuel loved running through the tunnels as he was a good height.  I struggled to keep up with him and get him to cut out of the tunnels rather than get lost in them.

We did some shopping at the markets which was good fun for everyone and before we knew it it was time to head back to China.  We also visited the War Remants museum and it was intersting explaining to the kids that there are always two sides to war and each side has their own version of the story.  Samuel got sick the night before we left so our first stop once we landed was the docters.