Just a short note today from Hanoi. This was our first full day in the bustle of this vibrant city. Today we met several Dutch, including a studiegenootje of Judica and we are cheated by a taxi driver. The first is for me more wonderful than the case with the Taxi drivers are simply criminals. The man made us pay 14 euros for a ride that really should have cost no more than 5 euros. Nothing can be done, the meter is the boss.
This morning we (by taxi) to the Ethnological Museum (or similar) to the outskirts of the town. Beautiful building, even very recently, and a very interesting collection. The museum was plenty to see and read about the daily life of the various minderheisgroepen life in Vietnam, including Thailand, the Khmer and the Cham. Outside was a decorated open-air museum containing examples of houses. Very nice to see and well done too.
The rest of the afternoon we hung around in the city, the smells and sounds in us. I can not get used to the hustle and bustle here. The constant honking and roaring on the street disappears not enough in my mind and makes me a little tired. It will get used.
For the next three days we have a tour to Halong Bay achieved. That's a world that seems very worthwhile to have. A bay containing thousands of very wonderful islands. We take the boat through it, caving, hiking and more. Promises to be a beautiful trip.
The majority of our stuff is left in charge here. A little exciting, though the hoteneigenaren decides to trust. With a minimal luggage we disappear in the early morning for three hours on a bus, and then a bunch of grab it snapped 16 men (including 2 more Dutch from our hotel), the tourist hang out. To be continued ...
