Day 1 (Transit & Transfer & Arrival)

Friday afternoon - Sydney


We arrived at airport and within 5 minutes of queueing we are upgraded to business class ( A great start).
During our 10 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur the 'keep your seat belt' on light was on most of the trip but that didnt worry me too much and Jess slept through most of the flight.

The 6 hour stop over in KL (3.30am til the 9.30am boarding) was a little too long for mine and Jess's liking. But we spent a bit of time checking out the duty free shops (once they actually opened). At least the airport had free Wi-Fi, thanks to those who played chess and words with friends with me. We took a few photos of Malaysia (that is - in and around the airport!)

The 4 hour flight to Hanoi was fine except for the movie and that we werent upgraded again (The Expendibles was rubbish).

Hanoi - the airport is fairly rudimentary (no facilities) but there is a man with a sign to help us get our visa on arrival - 1 Million Dong - $A50 for both Jess and I.

Outside arrivals our driver is there with a sign for me. First "fight" for me and Jess occurs about 20 seconds out the door when I tell her to walk faster over pedestrian crossing as the car approaching looked like it wasnt going to stop (Road rules seem optional here). * I had it under control! Ha! - Jess

In the car the driver is coughing lots and takes about 5 strepsils for the trip to our hotel.
The trip to the hotel is an eye opener - all those funny emails about overloaded motorbikes arent as funny when you see them for real (yes you can carry 70 live chickens on a motorbike caged in chicken wire). Horns are pressed frequently as a 'here I am' warning and the road rules, although optional, appear to be 'try to overtake the guy in front of you'. I guess this is the way it works here.

We get to our hotel - holy crap the (3 metre wide) road out the front is full of motorbikes, cars, people, markets. From the website for the hotel I thought it would be more peaceful out the front - but I guess they left off the hussle and bustle out the front off the website photographs. (Note: I cant see google street view getting a foothold in Hanoi CBD for a few years, roads are too busy!)

Flower seller on the street outside out hotel.

We had a quick nap in our hotel room then decided that we should go out. We asked the concierge where some good eating places were. The street he suggested wasnt on our block (damn, I will have to cross roads). We set off walking and nervously crossed the road, we seemed to get the hang of it - touch wood.

Ca Cuong

For dinner we stopped at a place, which had a kitten on a chain out the front - in my heart I am believing this is because they love the kitten and it wouldnt survive the traffic round here. The dish we got was a fish hot pot stir fry. We were asked if we wanted  'Ca Cuong' - should have said no - but said Yes (for future reference I have been told not to google what food you order until you get back to Australia) - Not a big fan of Ca Cuong but the second bowls we made up had the Ca Cuong left out and it was great.
Back to hotel, we watched carols (live from Australia on TV) and noticed the Aussies on top in the cricket - woo hoo.

Of to sleep - try to do some siteseeing tomorrow (Sunday)