Hoi An to Halong Bay (Hanoi) Jan. 31 - Feb. 7

Hello Everyone,
On our last day in Hoi An we rented bikes for a dollar each and rode five kilometres to the beach. We have to work off those spring rolls somehow! Lining the beach were several large wicker baskets with a seat which are used for fishing. It is quite a sight to see three men sitting in a tub fishing and bobbing around.
As we rode through the village, all the little children would yell hello to us. We stood and chatted to the little ones in the picture. They wanted to practise their English by counting numbers. So Ross held his fingers up and started counting and they repeated. Beyond that, they didn't know how to say anything else but their English was far better than our Vietnamese. They were all smiles when we asked if we could take their picture.
We rode home alongside rice paddies and decided to take a closer look. It wasn't long before the owner of this rice paddie came along and wanted me to help him plant. But first he wanted me to look the part and so took the hat off his head and put it on mine.
Planting rice is not very difficult. You simply take a small stalk and stick it in the mud. However, the longer you bend over in the blazing sun, the harder it becomes - a backbreaking job!. The water is shallow and very warm.
From Hoi An we took a four hour bus trip further up the coast to Hue where we stayed for a couple of days. The scenery was very picturesque and the landscape was quite mountainous. Hue owes its' charm partly to its' location on the Perfume River. There is no shortage of palaces, pagodas, tombs and temples to see. We spent a rather hot morning exploring the moated citadel and the "Forbidden Purple City", home to emporers and their court until 1947. Unfortunately many of the buildings were destroyed in the French and "American Wars". Many American military tanks etc. were on display with the date on which it was captured.
From Hue we flew to Hanoi the most northerly point we will get to in Vietnam. Hanoi is another large bustling city. We are staying in the Old Quarter which is steeped in history, pulsating with life, bustling with commerce, buzzing with motorbikes and rich in exotic scents. The streets are narrow and congested and hawkers pound the pavement. The best way to see Hanoi is to walk and to soak up the sights, sounds and smells.
After experiencing this bustling city we decided to escape to the serenity of Halong Bay, a three hour drive to the coast. Halong Bay was designated a World Heritage Sight in 1994. Words alone cannot do justice to the natural wonder that this area is. Close to 2000 limestone karsts rise up out of the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. These tiny islands are dotted with grottoes created by the wind and waves and have sparsely forested slopes.
We booked a two night, three day cruise on a chinese junk to soak in the peacefulness. We decided to book a small ten cabin junk  because we didn't want to be with a large group of people. However, because we were the only ones booked on the boat, we were moved to a two suite more luxurious junk. Imagine our surprise when we found out that we would be the only ones on that junk. For three days we lived like the rich and famous on our own private junk with a huge suite equipped with its' own jacuzzi. We relaxed, kayaked through the grottoes and bays and forgot about the hustle and bustle of Asia which seemed like a million miles away.
The meals which were prepared for us were extraordinary and the presentation of each of the seven courses was like nothing that we have ever seen before. Cucumbers became flowers, peppers became candle holders and pineapples turned into lanterns. It was an amzing three days!
Tomorrow we fly to Luang Prabang in Laos for a few days.
Until the next post - Joan & Ross