Monday September 24, 2007

Steven and I flew into Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, September 20th about: 8:00 P.M. We walked around the busy Hanoi streets until we found the restaurant of the famous Bobby Chinn from the World Cafe Asia, http://www.pilotguides.com/tv_shows/world_cafe_asia/bobby_chinn.php. We had a wonderful dinner and got to meet and talk to Bobby Chinn himself! What a great time!
Above: us and Bobby Chinn,Steven,our boat and the birthday cake the crew got Steven.

The next day Friday (and Steven's birthday), we woke up early to could get on the bus for our 3 hour car ride to Halong Bay city. Ha Long Bay, is listed as a World Heritage area and was of outstanding natural beauty. The picturesque "Dragon descending to the sea" Bay has 1,900 or so limestone islets rising from the sea. Our Junk boat was named the "Dragon Pearl". We stayed all night on the boat in the bay. The next morning after breakfast, we went to Drum Cave and then swimming.

On Saturday at Noon we headed to Hanoi. Steven and I went walking around and found the hash bar, The Spotted Cow. We then found the hash "On On" but they were eating dinner so we left and went to see a Water Puppet show.

"Modern, water puppetry is performed in a pool of water with the water surface being the stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. The puppets are carved out of wood and often weigh up to 15 kg. A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Singers of Cheo (a form of opera) with origin in north Vietnam sing songs which tell the story being acted out by the puppets."

Sunday, we went to the Hoi Chi Minh Museum, Temple of Literature and Hanoi prison otherwise known as "Hanoi Hilton". We left Hanoi 7:30 P.M.getting us back to Singapore at Midnight. What a whirlwind trip-should have stayed a little longer!

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