another video? or same same.

Another video you say?

this could be a repeat, im multi tasking doh!

DMZ

Im not posting all my pics tonite as im hungry and want to go find a dinner!

LOL just being truthful.

You could see over the whole district from here

I went to Dong Ha this morning which is the last town in the south before the DMZ,from there i went to visit some of the old fire bases that the Americans used and also visited one of the many sad cemeteries that dot the countryside here from the war.

I also went over to the North to go into the tunnels that were constructed from 1967-1972 to keep the town of Vinh Moc safe during the constant bombing that occured as the US tried to keep the DMZ clear of Viet Cong.

The tunnels were amazing, deep (up to 4 stories underground!) all made by hand and they stayed completely hidden from the US for the entire war!

They were next to the ocean and i can only imagine what it must have been like to be stuck in them for days on end as the surf pounded gently against the sandy beach only metres from your place of hiding.

lol, ive forgotten what this is!

Pagodas in Hue

Went for a motor tour of Hue, visited several temples and watched the novice monks learning to do calligraphy.

It was surreal to see them practicing while a million tourists (mostly asian) watched, took photos and generally made the peace and quiet of the temple fade into the background.

The haircuts were interesting, the atmosphere at some of the more distant temples was just beautiful.

Nothing beats the tranquility of the trees, ponds and sound of chanting that you find in some of the temples, hopefully the video i took conveys some of it.

Im getting better at being able to do "all the right things' when in a temple, youi watch and follow most of the time, although the folding your feet under you is still quite hard (old bones i think)

Some of the pagodas are amazing, untouched from any of the wars that Vietnam suffered, others were flattened.

Last of the Rowing!

Ninh Binh part 2

Rowing for Gold

Ninh Binh

Stayed in Ninh Binh for a couple of days, went to the Halong Bay of the Central plains,.
Was shown around an amazing landscape of likestone/Karst cliffs and rivers by a lady rowing with her feet!

It was a surreal thing to watch, as she did and eggbeater kind of motion and propelled us through the water.

I will upload some video of it soon!

The river goes through 3 or 4 limestone caves that have been cut out of the rock by the water!

There are always the ladies in sampans selling you a coke or fruit or anything you can think of (imagine your local dairy/supermarket on a small boat) very useful at times

Most of the people on the river were Vietnamese as it is the summer holiday season, so i stood out like a sore thumb

Along the shore there were rice paddies and farmers working hard to make a very poor living. I think many people in Vietnam are at this level (just getting by and no more, there are certainly a wealthy middle class but the poor are a majority.

As we came around a corner i saw two young boys neck deep in the muddy water, with a floating basket attached to their hats, they were hunting for the tini snails that are all over the paddies and rivers and are roasted with spices and sold on the street, alot of hard work for a very little $, but i think this is how it is.

hmmm, will this work?

After the final penalty

Aussies before the game part 2

Aussies in full cry ......before the game

A good day at the Office

Back in Hanoi

Arrived in time to get a place to stay, get some lunch and watch the Kiwis beat the Ausies in an Irish bar packed with Socceroo supporters!

A very sweet experience.

Give them their due, they were a very humourous group and their massed drunken singing would have made any "true Blue ocker" proud

I then followed them on a hair raising moto drive thru the streets of Hanoi to the Olympic stadium to

watch the Japn vs Aussie quarter final. A strange feeling knowing that most of the crowd assumed you were an Ocker (kind of felt like i should be wearing the silver fern somewhere)

The game was so-so, but the penalty shoot out was a thing of beauty, seeing the aussie boys bottle it was enough to make the brits an i sing out loud.

The police seemed more into the game than into policing but hey, who cared.

Today, went for a wander through the city and saw that the last Harry Potter book had just been released.... so forked out an immense ammount of cash and have just started it (yes i know, i should be still reading it but the free internet here made me put it down and come downstairs..all 6 floors of them)

Gulity admission no 1:

Walked past my first fast food outlet today and crumbled like an Italian backline, the photo is of my KFC lunch (i cant lie, it was same same but same) left me feeling greasy and blah but was YUMMY at the time. Doh

Not so gulilty admission no 1:

Walked past a 100% Kiwi ice cream shop and felt all warm and funny (ive so gotta get some pineapple lumps!) lol

in case it didnmt load b4

Halong Bay Pics

The following pics are from the trip into Halong Bay
The Boat was chartered for $60 between 4 of us (im not sure how they make money on that!!)
We had a lovely seafood lunch and swam, kayaked and generally had a blast on the water from 9am till 5.30.
A very tiring day but rewarding.
Im off to have some fresh king Prawns and go to bed in a very comfy (but expensive bed for the night)
:)

it seems the gods have decided not to let me upload pics (so i will do it in Hanoi)
Sorry

Thats gotta smart! Part 2

Thats gotta smart! Part 2

Thats gotta smart!