It was dull and cool (high of 13 degrees) with a little drizzle today. Our first stop on our walk was the lake area. On our way to St. Joseph’s Cathedral I discovered an amazing artisan ceramics shop which was filled with beautiful blue and white pieces….I couldn’t resist. I love blue and white ceramics. I am still amazed by the everyday (for here) things that I see on …
It was a rainy day in Hanoi. We braved the insane traffic and walked to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Uncle Ho as he was known to the people helped lead the revolution against the French colonial rulers and was the first president of Vietnam after they gained independence. We stood in line for a while before shuffling past his preserved body. We next visited the Pagoda located in the …
The overnight train going back to Hanoi was a lot more comfortable than the one going to Lao Cai. This time I slept on the top bunk. It was a real challenge for me to get up into it, John captured it all on video and thinks it has the potential to go viral on the internet. We arrived in Hanoi at about 4:30am and then went back to the …
The view of the misted valley was stunning. We left to do the 12km trek with steep inclines and declines. Dong forgot the walking poles (which Cora had reminded him of twice the night before and once in the morning. He ran back and got a couple. And boy was I glad that we had them on the trek. We were quickly followed by an entourage of local women. …