Holy Hanoi Batman!!

Rice Paddy
see all photos »

Well, today was our last day in Bangkok and I don't think I'm stepping over my bounds in speaking for Gino when I say it couldn't be soon enough!  Wow.. that city is non-stop intense.  Smelly of exhaust!  And opportunities to be run over at every corner.  Today we took it down a notch after last night.  Last night as you might have been able to tell from the blog, we had a few beverages of the adult nature.  It is a budhist holiday in Bangkok and it was a payday Friday so the streets were jammed and Mr. Payap told us to park it around 6pm and don't move for a couple hours 'cause you weren't going to get anywhere anyway!  So we did.  We stopped at a pub which had nice outdoor seating and we had a beer.. or two.. or three.. or.. yeah.. or WHOOPS its 2:00am!  WHO NEEDS A QUICKY MART... I DOOO!!!

Crossing the Red River into Hanoi
see all photos »

Yeah, so this morning we were up and at em again, collected our passports from Mr. Payap and then went off to see the Wat (Thai for Temple) Poh which is a big reclining buddah.  FACT:  Wat Poh actually has the largest reclining image of Buddah in the world.

The more your lost the more fun you're having!

Conveiniently, on the grouns of Wat Poh is the training grounds for the traditional Thai massage.  Gino went for the 45 minute foot and leg massage and I went for the full hour full body massage.  I'm telling you brothers and sisters.. that was heaven!  I've never been a big fan of the massage before but I think I never had a little woman like that inflict so much pain.  I walked out of there with all my kinks worked out.

Riverside Homes
see all photos »

Then it was off to the airport where we were on our way to Hanoi.  The airplane landed and a solo traveler, Jane from Denmark, looked like she was a bit lost on how to get where she wanted to go so we offered to split the cab fare with her.  We got to our hostel and the reservation didn't get booked properly so our private room all of a sudden became a dorm.. oh well, no biggie for me.. but Gino hasn't traveled in the lesser developed parts of the world and has some stress about accepting the lower standards of service here ;)

Dark photo of the water puppets
see all photos »

We just had a beer and a long discussion on American and EU politics with Gino, myself, Jane and the new bloke Harry from the UK.  The team is hovering over me to shut the machiens down so I should probably wrap this up.

We are going on another boat ride on Halong Bay without internet access for the next two days so it will be a while before you hear from us.  Sorry no pictures, it is not possible from this computer.

Bill & Gino