Good Morning Vietnam (pics)

[epix]

Decided to use some of my vacation time at work and come to Vietnam.. Have been here about a week and half so far and heading out this Saturday. I posted all the pics on Facebook but for those who have not seen them, here they are:

Not over here for any particular reason beyond that I wanted to go somewhere a bit different than Europe. Brought my father along with me and he is enjoying it as well. The flight over of course was not all that fun (20+ hours of flight time) but that was a bit of an adventure in itself. I'll have a hard time choosing pictures for this thread so it may be updated as I am over here for another week. There is a lot of older military Jeeps over here, I have only seen one newer Jeep which was a lifted yellow Wrangler in the beach city of Nha Trang

Our arrival was in Hanoi so that's were I'll start.
One of the first places we went was a walk around the city, including Hoan Kiem Lake.

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The bridge let to an island that had a small temple on it with some very nice florals.
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Some children by the Pagoda outside the bridge
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Turtle Island
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Hanoi was hosting a race, which luckily closed the streets around the lake! Traffic is immense here.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hanoi/IMG_0014800x600.jpg

Rented a Cyclo Cart for a ride to the Temple of Literature, I felt sorry for the driver so I offered my services to him, he seemed more nervous than I was!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hanoi/IMG_0127800x600.jpg

Here we have a local working on the power lines, safety is not a top priority here..
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Inside the Temple of Literature
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On the way back to our hotel was the building St Joseph Cathedral.
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Leash Laws are non-existant here..
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Mmmm
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hanoi/IMG_9985800x600.jpg

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After a couple days in Hanoi we ventured off to the famed Halong Bay, this place was AMAZING.
It was about a 3 hour drive east from Hanoi, we booked a 3 day/2 night tour which included spending one night on traditional Junk Boat (don't let the name fool you) and another in a hotel on Cat Ba Island.

Off to the water! Let's not get sea sick
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On the boat ride out we were served lunch, which was extremly good, and I'm far from a seafood fan.
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On to the rocks
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Cave on one of the small islands
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Time for some swimming, one of the typical things to do is to jump from the top deck of the boat into the bay, about 20 ft up, I jumped 3 times myself.. each time I think I got more hesitant!
Paul from San Francisco giving it a try
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Ha%20Long%20Bay/IMG_0535.jpg

Robert from the Czech Republic filling himself up with some liquid courage:
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Night time, sleeping on the boat was easier than I imagined.
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Decided to wake up early for some artsy-fartsy shots
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Loam, our tour guide juggling all the camera's for the group photo
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and the group, consisting of Australians, Americans, Chinese, Germans, and Czech Republic.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Ha%20Long%20Bay/IMG_0628.jpg

Next stop was onto Cat Ba Island where I took a scooter ride into the small town and also some jungle trekking
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Power box type thing, It just reminds me of a robot and I thought it was cool
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Wipe out! She was ok so don't worry!
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Off to our hotel on the other side of the Island
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Dinner anyone?
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Not your typical building improvent framework
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I really don't know the fate of this fellow, I hope it's not what I think it is.
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Some students asked if we could help them with English, we tried to fake that we were all French but Paul couldn't pull off the accent.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Cat%20Ba%20Island/IMG_0860800x600.jpg

Next we make our way south to Hue, a very cultural and historic city, once the heart of the Asian spice trades.
Woo hoo train ride!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hue/IMG_1066.jpg

Just another form of A/C
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View from our hotel room, for $15/night including breakfast its tough to beat
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Here we are at the Citadel
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hue/IMG_1097.jpg

Hello fishies
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hue/IMG_1108.jpg

Right after this picture my camera LCD screen broke :( It was raining quite heavy all day) even with my waterproof cover I was still affected. All pics beyond this I had to take just by using what I know of the camera habits/photography and no way to review them until uploaded on the computer, almost felt blind taking each photo but I'm happy with the results.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/epix1718/Vietnam/Hue/IMG_1111.jpg

Next stop was off the see the tombs,book an all day bus tour and boat ride for $8, including buffet lunch!

Here is a local making insence, used heavily at temples.
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Colourful arragements created with inscence
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Again more rain :( Hue is known for how much rain they receive
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Pagoda near the Citadel
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This version of this symbol represents peace in this part of the world
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Old Austin car that was stored at the Pagoda temple
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Where the monks workout
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That's it for now! I haven't pulled off any images this week from my camera, just been hanging out in Nha Trang which I would describe as a small city much like one in Florida, minus the old people, with lots of scooters, and cheap eats. I had the best ribeye steak o my life last night at a nice restaurant on the beachfront or $6!

[chadsmeltzer]

Once again awesome pictures. I have never really seen Vietnam from a tourists view before.
I laughed when I saw you giving the guy a ride on his bike.

[spieg]

Thanks for sharing the pics! Looks like a neat trip.