North Vietnam

Vietnam has been a very pleasant surprise for us both thus far. We've heard horror stories from other travellers about the people that gave Michele cold sweats thinking back to India, but we have loved the country so far. The people have been incredibly friendly (with a couple patience testing exceptions just like any country) and the sights have been far better than we anticipated. The last couple weeks have taken us from Hanoi to Halong Bay to Ninh Binh (just south of Hanoi) and now to Hue, the former dynastic capital. Halong Bay has definitely been the highlight along with the area around Ninh Binh. We really enjoyed a boat trip through limestone carst formations similar to Halong Bay with the added element of seeing people working in the incredibly green paddie fields. I really can't say much else about it, but hopefully we'll have some pictures up soon. It's one of the (if not the) most beautiful things we've seen so far. Another highlight was renting a motorbike (yep, again...have to admit that I really like it even with the INSANE Vietnam roads) and riding back roads to a national park where they rehabilitate monkeys rescued from poachers. I didn't know creatures like these existed; once again, I'll have to let the pictures show you what I'm talking about. Needless to say, our time in Ninh Binh was very well spent.


Hanoi:




Halong Bay:




Ninh Binh:




Hue and the DMZ: