Hoi An - (And a computer that works-almost!)

:-)

With a bit of luck, I'll be able to post some more photos today.
We're staying at the Vinh Hung Resort in Hoi An all this week, and can recommend it to anyone thinking of visiting Hoi An. Caitlin is having fun - pestering me to go swimming in the resort pool at every available chance, and being absolutely spoiled by every person she meets. As I write this, she's playing with one of the reception ladies, who has given her a little purse with a little green carved stone starfish, and is showing her around the reception area (and giving her bags, shoes and hats to dress up in!).

We ended up booking most of our trip through Tonkin Travel in Hanoi. Hien (the girl who arranged our booking) was lovely, and so far everything is on track. They were also about $1000 AUS cheaper than the guys we were originally looking at, and we've got separate rooms at each place, rather than our original plan of squeezing all 4 of us in to 1 room.

Anyway, for a recap of what we've been up to:

Hanoi:

After a couple of days by ourselves to get oriented, Tonkin sent along our guide around Hanoi - A really nice young (30-40 at a guess) guy, whose name sounds like "Lap" or "Lep".
"Uncle Lap", as he became over the next few days, took us to see the sights of Hanoi, down to Phat Diem to see the amazing old stone cathedrals there.

The area around Phat Diem has the highest concentration of Catholics in Vietnam, and the cathedral there is something to behold, with a mix of European, Chinese and Vietnamese architecture, and some interesting history.
The it was off to Tam Coc for a boat trip through some beautiful countryside (but nothing to rave about at the nearby restaurant, where we were offered goat satays among other things), along to Bat Trang (pronounced something like "But Chung") pottery village, and various stops in between.
One of the highlights food-wise was a visit to the Hoa Sua training restaurant, where former street kids are given training in the hospitality industry to give them a second chance at life.

On our last night, we went out for dinner with Lap and his wife, Phuong (pronounced something like "fwer"). They are both teachers, and Caitlin had lots of fun playing rock paper scissors and other games with Phuong. If you're ever in Hanoi and want to have a few top-shelf beers with a great view, check out the "Legends Bar", where they brew their own beers and even serve some reasonable steak and lamb rack if you're that way inclined.

After Lap saw us off at the station, we had a 13 hour trip on the Reunification express train. The 4-bed soft sleeper cabins are the only way to go, and even then the facilities are pretty basic. There's no doubt at any stage that you're travelling on a train in a communist country!

Next stop - Hue (pronounced "Way"), where we met up with our next guide Thach (pronounced "Tuck"), who is probably in his late 40s, early 50s. We visited the old imperial city, then braved the rain and took a boat ride up the Perfume River to one of the nearby Buddhist Pagodas.

We stayed in the Asia Hotel in Hue, which has a fantastic view from the restaurant/pool bar on the top floor. Unfortunately, Rachel and I scored the smallest room in the hotel, and had no electricity in the room (or in the lift down the hall!) for most of the first afternoon! Eventually, everything was sorted out of course, but I had to laugh when the receptionist suggested she could send a fan to our room until the power for the airconditioning came back on... an electric fan of course!

Will post some more pics later, and fill you in on our travels around Hue and Hoi An...

Til then...

Steve.