Wat's Up?

  The 1 969 limestone karsts in Halong Bay are a UNESCO World heritage site. They are 500 million years old.  At night, even if they were not seen, it was like sleeping among friendly giants. It was very quiet and we were  gently rocked to dreamland.  I woke up this morning on the boat to see this through the window. We climbed a switchback trail to the top of this karst. 4 people from the group swam in the nippy waters; it is still 10ish degrees. Several kayaked. I declined as I had only the clothes I was wearing and kayaking is always a wet affair.  Although they call the boats junks, they are not the lattice-sailed ships associated with the name. Ours was fairly well appointed. Each room had a shower  Some were like small cruise ships.  We were very well fed by an all male crew. Crab cakes in the shell to start. In the last pic, the fish was caught in a carrot trap LOL! Before covid Vietnam hosted 20 000 000 tourists each year. In Halong Bay, massiv...

Been floating around Halong Bay without reception, so time to catch up. Two nights ago everyone was tired after the overnight train ride, and hunkered down. Roomie Alex and I went out for a stroll and came across a unique restaurant. We grilled pork belly and scampi on our own little hibachi. The Marinades and dipping sauces caused the flavours to dance around the tongue. The menu was only in Vietnamese. For the hour we were there we were the only non-Asians. True street food! One stop on the way to Halong was the Humanity Centre. A Viet Cong vet founded it to provide work and money for vets who died in service families and to surviving victims of bombings, Agent Orange and attacks on villages. The Vets family support extends to the third generation. Many artisans are deaf and/or dumb, are missing limbs or are mentally challenged due to toxic chemicals in utero or after birth. They get 65% of sales of their items.There are now 3 of these centres in ‘Nam. This centre specializes in lacq...

The overnight train trip from Hué was 13 hours. My roomie Alexander and I shared a berth with Clare and Bryan. They are both from Ireland and met in Australia when working for an IT company. After 7 years, they are in the process of moving back to Ireland hoping to get jobs and build a house. They decided to travel for two months on the way home. Risk takers !! Luckily no one snored in our teeny berth. Of course in the bumpy train with 10 stops before Hanoi and no heat, we didn’t sleep soundly.  A rather chopped up day. The train arrived in Hanoi at 5 am. We bused to the hotel and were given 4 rooms to share until bus tour at 9 am. Most went out for breakfast, I showered and blogged. Then luggage left in the hotel foyer and off to see the Ho Chi Minh complex. He is the “venerated father” of modern Vietnam. He became the leader of the country in 1945, introducing a Communist society until his death in 1969, so never lived to see the unified country. His mausoleum is a monster. ...