Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake
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After a 30KM drive to Denang International Airport, we took a Vietnam Airlines flight to Hanoi. The flight was just over an hour long and included a light snack. It appears a storm (part of Typhoon Prapiroon) had begun the night before in Halong Bay which meant quite alot of hotels were fully booked (as either people who were meant to depart this morning there weren't able to, or people are returning from Halong Bay with their tour cut short). I was going to say therefore, we found getting accommodation a little difficult but that is/seems a bit selfish considering the fatalities and damage the typhoon has had on China and the Phillipines..

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Hanoi is pretty crazy place and can be a bit on your senses, with the continuous traffic and horn noises. In saying that, it has a charm to it, and there are alot of cultural things to do here with a number of museums and places of interest to see. We didn't manage to see Hoh Chi Minh's Museum (which is a pretty disappointing thing to say) but we did manage to fit in a few others [see the individual reviews for photos]. This time of year is hot and rainy season so we're getting heavy showers for a few hours in the evening. It's been warm but not sunny enough to sunbathe. Tomorrow we go to Halong Bay on a 3 day/2 night tour. We hear it's pretty amazing so we're looking forward to it. Read about it and see the photos in the individual review.

Hanoi - Crazy and charming..

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After our return from Halong Bay we went to Sapa. Also check out its individual review and see some nice photos.

Greetings to Harriet, Lucy and Ann-Marie who we first met in Nha Thrang but have now unfortunately gone back to England :o)