Vietnam closure!

A non-random selection of mine and Christa's photos from Vietnam (I still haven't managed to recover mine but you never know). In Hanoi and Sapa we were continually besieged by street traders trying to flog us their wares; I thought we might get away from it at Halong Bay, since we were onboard a boat most of the time, but no: they just sail right up alongside. She had Oreos too, but I resisted. Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi. We're sitting out the back of a restaurant in drinking whiskey and smoking cigars (sharing a cigar actually, as the smoke goes right to my head, and it always makes Christa hack and gasp like she's never tried it before, so one's always enough!) We didn't get much sleep some nights. The night-trains in particular, while a fun experience, are not really designed for sleeping. Well, no, I guess they are, but it was way too hot and bumpy to get much done. On Thursday morning as we were eating our breakfast in Hanoi we were plunged into darkness as part of a rolling blackout that lasted for most of the day in our district. Apparently it's fairly common, and is linked to low rainfall. Of course we didn't mind this as everyone knows blackouts are cool, but I wouldn't like to have to live somewhere where it's this common. Christa on-board the night train. I now realise that these photos are in reverse-chronological order. Deal with it. She's sad because we bought some peanut M&Ms and they turned out to be all melty and congealed. We also got these tasty dried fruits. I do love me some fructification. Aah no, this is what I really love. We ate some much fresh pineapple all week - and mango, and dragon fruits and other exciting delicacies - that my digestive system went into shock upon our return to Korea and refused to process the cafeteria food that I tried to foist upon it again. It's taken nearly two weeks to acclimatise back to my usual sad diet again. Cute Vietnamese kids at Halong Bay (okay, so these photos are in no coherent order at all). We tried ramming some with our kayak but got yelled at by their parents. Oh, speaking of kayaks. I'd never done this before and was convinced Christa was gonna have us over at any minute with all her attempts to stray away form the pack into random caves. I was having done of it, to her frustration! Our course stayed straight and true with me at the helm. I later discovered that it's actually much easier than I ever thought it was to stay afloat in salt-water. Have I really never swum in the sea before? Guess not. Nobody was gonna but Christa insisted, then I followed her, and then everybody else followed suit, including sweet Vietnamese lass Hnung, who dove in fully clothed. It was cold. Got bitten by sea-lice. Christa and Hnung sharing a moment. Hnung, whose name is pronounced something close to 'Hune' kept spelling her name for us, as though it would make a scrap of difference. We never did really master it. The Santa Maria. Back in Halong with a few hours to kill, Christa suggested going for a foot massage as we'd seen a string of massage parlours earlier in the week. Although it was officially just a foot massage, they managed to incorporate our hands, arms, legs, backs and heads into the routine. It was lovely, and only slightly marred by my oh-so-professional masseuse's giggles at what are (in Asia) my comically hairy legs. By the end of the hour the two of us couldn't even look at each other: every time I looked at her she would start laughing hysterically, and I couldn't help laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation either. This is the restaurant at the eco-place we stayed at in Sapa. It was a gorgeous location. So peaceful and remote. We loved it. Thanks to Katie for the recommendation. Here's a rice terrace. For now, my photos of the local tribes-people and the shots I took on our treks remains stranded on the damaged memory card, does the footage of us getting motorcycle rides back to base along the narrow mountain 'roads'. Tall buildings in Hanoi. Land is expensive, so they build tall. And to save money often only one or two sides of the building will be painted, the others left as blank concrete. There's some pretty architecture to be seen in Vietnam thanks to the old colonial French influence. My faithful poncho. It didn't rain too much except in Hanoi, where I do believe it's always raining. I haggled aggressively with a woman on the street for this, and it probably only cost a few pence. By the end of the week, we'd both got pretty tired of constantly bartering so ended up paying whatever price was quoted first most of the time - it's not like we couldn't afford it as everything was really cheap. We did not want to come home.