After leaving DC Saturday afternoon, Aug 19, 2107, for JFK we flew JFK - Hong Kong - Hanoi, arriving Monday moring Aug 21. Long trip, loosing 12 hrs along the way. We travelled with Kathleen and David Keys and joined Anne Purvis at the Intercontinental Hanoi in the mid afternoon. We relaxed and adjusted with a lazy afternoon and dinner at the hotel.
Arising we enjoyed a terrific breakfast of many asian delights and started to feel normal again having slept a decent amount in a luxurious bed. So much better than the airline seat!!!
We decided to move over to the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi to get our bags in place a do a bit of walking and shopping. Found our first true iced Vietnamese coffee which was especially yummy in the 95 or so degree heat. The group gathered together for a late lunch of pho, BEST ever pad thai, and thai spaghetti. with cake and beer as part of the "combo". All for about $6 each. We're going to like this trip!!!
We officially start our 15 day tour with AmaWAterways on Wednesday at 9AM. We'll tour parts of Hanoi for the day and then depart Thursday AM for Ha Long Bay. Looking forward to our night on a junk in the bay and the reported beauty of the area. many photos to come.
Now off to see about finding a laptop charger as it appears the travel charger I got for this trip has expired, and soon won't have any battery charge left.
