Freejan

I am really tired tonight so this will be a shorter post. Last night i was kept awake by a party in a disco across the road – attended by David Beckham no less. He kept me awake until 1.15 and not in a good way! We had a relatively late departure from the Melia – 9.45, to go to the airport to fly at 12.20 to Danang which took just over an hour. Must mention the topiary around here. It is all down the middle of the road and along each side in places. Beautifully shaped little trees. Many people have bonsais on their verandas and if i was making a guess many are very old. We left Hanoi wuth a temperature of 22° and arrived in Danang with temperature of 31°. We were now being driven in a boring white bus with a new guide called Lan ( think that’s the right spelling) who is very nice. We set off along a beautiful coaatline and up and over the Cloudy mountain- there was a blue street sign on the way up saying ‘Foggy Street’!. The gods were withbus today and it was clear and sunny with amazing views. When we reached the top we got out of the bus and did a short climb up to some old bunkers which had been used by the Americans. This was the border between Danang and Hue. We had a brief stop for the happy rooms and a drink at a place right next a aw wonderfully photogenic lagoon. I took some arty farty photos before setting of for Hue which would take about another hour and a half. It was getting dark as we entered Hue which gad at one time been the capital of Vietnam. Our new hotel is the Imperial Hotel and is a rather grand colonial style place. Absolutely stunning! My ‘suite’is divided into a sitting room with sofa, chairs, desk and television, the bathroom with bath and large walk in shower with a little wooden box of ‘essentials’ wrapped in small red corrugated cardboard packets, and finally, my bedroom with amazing double bed, lamps, sofa and television. I am feeling guilty about the luxury of it all. Also feeling shattered and we have a 7am wake up call to go out at 8.30! I had food in a place called Les Garden. I had spring rolls, becoming an obsession here, followed by minced pork on lemongrass skewers, pwanut dip and salad and rice paper to wrap and eat them in. Delicious! Night all. X

Up at the crack of dawn and off at 7.30! It was a 4 hour journey, mostly because of the traffic which was rush hour. The vietnamese get up early and school starts at 7am. The school ‘day’ ends about 12/1pm. We stopped for visits to the ‘happy room’ as our guide calls the loos, and to look round an outlet where children and adults affected by the ‘agent orange’ insectaside introduced by the Americans used here. Children are still being born with deformaties. They sew by their good hand, the most amazing pictures in cottons or silks. There were other types of vietnamese fancy goods there too – silk kimonos, lacquered bowls and boxes, jewellery in precious stobes found in this coubtry like rubies and emeralds as well as jade. I looked at a pair of circular jade ( green) earrings set in silver and they were about £120 so i had to walk away! It was now about another hour to Halong Bay on this misty/cloudy day. We were not to see it at it’s very best but the 1000s of jagged islands were quite a spectacle! We had climbed aboard the flat bottomed boat to be seated for a feast as the boat left the harbour. There are 38 of us in my ‘party’from all walks of life and this was a good time to get to know a few of them. We had prawns dipped in kumquat juice and salt, crab cakes, set in the shell, chips, spring rolls with soy sauce, fish in a beautiful sauce with ginger in it and spring onion and ended with fresh mango and vietnamese coffee – as you know i am a twa drinker but the coffee here is amazing, particularly with condensed milk – yes i know sounds dreadful but the coffee is so strong it just goes with it so well. We sailed for a while spotting the islands that were shaped like different things -a horse for example, but the best was the kissing chickens!
We eventually moored up at a large cave and went inside. It was an over 100 step climb into the cave, which, once on the flat reminded me of the Inca trail with steps up and down as we crossed the centre of the huge cavern. There were stalactites and mites which were lit up with different coloured lights. Again it was a case of what does that one remind you of? The cave was discovered only in the late 1990s by a fisherman who saw bats coming in and out of the hole in the roof. We then proceeded down around 200 steps back to a mooring at the other side of the island. Ankle now letting me know about it! We set off back to our hotel around 4pm, stopping on the way back at the Project ‘agent orange’ centre for the happy rooms and to do some quick shopping. We arrived back at the hotel about 7.30pm. I went to settle my bill at the desk and then across the road to the Fresh Garden bakers across the road for a sandwich. I couldn’t face going out as shattered! I took my life in my hands and set off across the road. The bikes are very good just veer round you! The drivers all wear masks around their mouths so can only assume i am breathing in polluted air as i cross the road!
We fly to Danang tomorrow and cases have to be outside our door by 9. A lie in! Night all. X

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