Looking forward to Vietnam

We are looking forward to going back to Vietnam to explore the coast line. Sure, the cities of Hanoi and Saigon are something to experience, but there is more to the country than swarming scooters by the million.

Our plan is to start in the north - Hanoi and venture south along the coast, finishing in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

We have already been to a few places, including the big cities and Halong Bay, which is spectacular and a MUST SEE!........ Who would have thought a Vietnamese phrase book could be so interesting?

...and Hoi An, where we befriended the lovley Miss Dung (pronounced Yoong), the hotel reservation officer. Stray and I rode bicycles 16 km (and caught the local barge) to her parent's house to have lunch. We enjoyed marinated, fried 'little birds', salad and a couple of beers.

Mot, hai, ba, zo! Cheers! Me, Dung, her Mum, Uncle and Dad.

In Hanoi we met with some uni students who showed us some interesting meals and loved to practice their English. Anh, Stray, Me, Daisy and Phuong. I remember Phuong, cheekily trying to look at the bill at the end of the night, which only came to about AU$37 for the six of us to eat heaps and have a couple of drinks.

And in Vung Tau, an hour away from Saigon by hydrofoil, we caught up with Hai and his family, Mrs Hai (just a coincidence they have the same first name), Quang and Van. Mr Tam and his wife on the right.

We look forward to surprising Hai on this visit...he does not know we are coming. Too many memories and photos to share here, but I have uploaded all of our travel pics to here at Skydrive Live.