Escape the Heat

        Since our great few days in Dalat, one of my favorite stops in Vietnam due to the beautiful area and friendly locals, we have been heading north faster than expected. Hoi An was our next stop where we spent three days in brutal heat waves reaching over 100 degrees every day, 104 once. The town itself was a really fun, beautiful old town full of great food and over 500 tailors interestingly enough. We made it a few hours walkin around the town before retreating to the nearby beach on rented bicycles for the rest of the afternoon on day 1. Day 2 started at 4:45 am for a tour to My Son, a Cham Ruins site nearby. Again we made it to around noon before running for shore. Aside from touring and beaching we had some custom clothes tailored for us, some button downs for myself, which are especially comfortable.
         Next on our route north in n attempt to flee the heat was Hue, the old capital of Vietnam which was a big bustling city, but full of culture including a really interesting old Citadel from an earlier emperor which was heavily bombed. Other sites included tombs and pagodas from hundreds of years past. We took the sleeper bus from here north and stopped in Ninh Binh for the day to visit Tam Coc. These sleeper buses are pretty hilarious. Two levels high, three "beds" acrosse each row. I unfortunately am far from fitting but with enough snacks and a book I make it through the night. Tam Coc is called the Halong Bay of the rice paddies. Half of our canoe ride was spent in the rain, but the scenery was the most spectacular that we have seen yet. Huge rock formations and cliffs coming out of the rice paddies as we quietly canoed through their shadows..a real highlight despite the weather (It wasn't all bad as we were the only boat out there for the first hour).
     Now we are in Hanoi, a huge metropolis full of motorbikes, big buildings, an endless flow of people, and most importantly niiice cooler weather! It is a great city with lots of great attractions around a very nice 'Old Quarter' part of the city which is centered around a big lake. Among the many museums we have visited is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which houses the body of Ho Chi Minh. Not a fake body, or a wax body, his real body, which spends three months a year in Russia being kept in good shape. It was a little creepy in there, and extremely strict. If you stepped out of line, a military official was there to push you back in line. Tomorrow it's off to Halong Bay for two nights!! Hope you're all happy and healthy, love Mas