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Arrival in Hanoi after flight
from
London via Kuala Lumpur
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Wednesday 8th November 2017
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We arrived at Kuala
Lumpur airport on schedule at 7:00 a.m. after a very pleasant
overnight flight from Heathrow. We faced a two and a half
hour wait for our connection to Hanoi, but luckily we were
able to relax in the lounge, from where Bruce was able to
do a bit of plane spotting. |
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The onward flight to
Hanoi was delayed by about an hour, but once we took off,
the service was very good... of course, we had to have some
more champagne! |
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We got our first glimpse
of Hanoi as we came in to land. It looked simultaneously
agricultural and densely populated. There was also a lot
of water around and we wondered if this was a feature or
a recent flood. |
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We were looking forward
to our adventure very much. If Vietnam was anything like
the description our UK travel agent had provided, we were
in for an unforgettable experience. |
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We were met at Hanoi
Airport by Quan, a representative of the local agent, who
would be our guide for the next four days. He gave us a
warm welcome before escorting us to a waiting car, where
we met our driver. We were soon being driven to our hotel
in the centre of Hanoi. |
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Our Hotel in the
Old Quarter of Hanoi |
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The first of many welcome
drinks from the various hotels we stayed at - this time
it was delicious fresh mango juice. After helping us to
check in, Quan and the driver disappeared, with a promise
to see us again in the morning for our planned city tour. |
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We were shown to our
room by a charming lady, who wanted to know how we knew
each other. We told her we were "friends" but
she wasn't satisfied with that response. She stated that
we must be "best friends" to share a holiday and
we agreed with her. (Later she sent us an email referring
to us as "beloved best friends"). |
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Our room and the
view from our balcony |
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It was getting late
in the day so we decided to set off with our map and explore
the area around our hotel before nightfall. This is the
road just outside our hotel. |
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The streets in Hanoi
are very busy. To us it seemed like there was no order,
but the locals seem to cope somehow. We quickly learned
to be assertive and walk into the traffic when crossing
roads... slowly. Somehow the cars and bikes avoided us,
just like they avoided other pedestrians and each other. |
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Hoan Kiem Lake at
dusk, with Turtle Tower in the centre of the lake. |
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The Huc Bridge |
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Hoan Kiem Lake again |
Back to our hotel |
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We didn't want too much
to eat after all the travelling, so we chose this restaurant
close to the hotel, thinking that we could have a light
meal. |
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More mango juice...
the second one of many for Bruce. |
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Geoff's "light"
starter turned out to be huge and filling.
Very large prawns in a crisy coconut batter! |
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It was time for bed
and a good night's sleep, jet-lag permitting. |
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