So, my sister and her husband are avid travellers. They’ve been to tonnes of great places around the world already, and show no signs of ever slowing down. It’s awesome for them, and they always have tonnes of great pictures to show for their trips.
As it turns out, internet is sporadic enough and webmail is dodgy enough that the easiest way to say “hello” to everyone from the road is with comments on this blog! Two of the comments have appeared in our most recent article, but I thought it made sense to give her a new topic to post comments to. So here it is!
The first two comments are duplicated here for anyone who missed them. So Na, feel free to comment here so everyone can see! And if anyone else has messages back for them, add those to the comment area as well. Have fun and safe travels!
October 19
Hi Greg & Alie,
I didn’t have access to my email, so thought I’d post a comment instead. We’ve had a good time on our trip so far. Ho Chi Minh is chaotic, to say the least. Today, we’re off on the train to Nha Trang (about 7 hours). We’ll be working our way North towards Hanoi. Hello to Mom & Dad & love to all. We’ll see you in a couple weeks.
Na
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October 21
Just waiting for our pickup for our overnight train to Danang. Had a fab day in Nha Trang – beach is stunning – 7 miles long and turquoise waters & we had a good time on our little cruise. Internet is free here at the hotels!
Luv,
Na
Any time on the actual beach itself, just chillin’ out?
Glad your having a good time. The weather here is the poops. Be good and keep having fun.
Luv, Mom & Dad
Hi Everyone,
We did manage to get a little time on the beach in Nha Trang, but only a couple hours. We took the train overnight to Da Nang next and drove into Hoi An. Hoi An was awesome. Very quiet, charming, little town. We did some fishing – I caught three in my boat – Craig got 5 in his. We did a lot of shopping and strolling around the old quarter. Also ate really well.
Next up was a 4 hour drive to Hue. It’s the ‘Imperial’ city in Central Vietnam. Saw the Citadel, a couple Imperial tombs, and we took a hike along the river (3.5km) from a Pagoda where we got dropped off. It was stinking hot even at 6 in the evening.
Last night, we spent onboard the train – 13 hours – so did quite a bit of sleeping. We shared a berth with a professor from one of the universities here. His English was good and we talked quite a bit about our travels.
This morning we arrived in Hanoi at 4:30am. Luckily, we were able to wake the night watchman up at the hotel and check into our rooms right away. Up again at 8am, and out to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum/Complex/Museum, then to a temple on the lake, and finally a cyclo tour before lunch.
After lunch, we took a taxi to the Temple of Literature, the first university here. It’s in a complex with a series of courtyards and gardens – peace & quiet right in the middle of the city.
Tomorrow, we’re off to Halong Bay for an overnight boat cruise. Hopefully, it will be sunny and we get in some tanning, relaxing, and swimming. Then one more night & full day here in Hanoi before we head home. We’re staying in the same hotel, so I should be able to post again before we leave.
Cheers!!
Na
On a separate topic…
An extra special Happy Birthday to Alie!! And a happy pre-birthday to Dad!
Hi Everyone,
Had a great time in Halong Bay – it’s pretty spectacular. The boat was nicer than some of the hotels we stayed in. LOL!! We’re leaving in about an hour for the airport. Our first flight is at 11:30pm. We fly Hanoi-osaka-tokyo-chicago-ottawa. If all goes well, and we don’t have any delays, then we should arrive at 5:45pm Friday afternoon, your time.
See you then!
Shauna