Hanoi.

We flew from Laos to Hanoi in less than an hour. We flew over the clouds and smog and we could see the tops of the mountains. Maisy and I played games on our DS's, and looked out the window some of the time. When the plane was just about to land, we could see lots of rice fields. They looked like lots and lots of palettes of eye shadow.
A mini van then drove us into Hanoi and we could see all the tall skinny houses and buildings. They are all so colourful and interesting.
Our hotel is called 'The Gecko'  www.hanoigeckohotel.com
 and it is in the old quarter of the city. The people here were very helpful.
The streets are so small and crowded with motorcycles, cars, bicycles and people. You can't wait for the traffic to stop if you want to cross the road because it never ever stops. You just need to grab someone's hand and remember to look left first, then just weave through the traffic holding your breathe until you get to the other side.
Everyone is trying to sell something. Each street sells one type of thing. There is Silver Street, Fabric Street, Sugar Street, Medicine Street, Coffin Street. It is too easy to get lost.
Dad felt sick when it was time for dinner, so Pete, Gail, Mum, Maisy and I went out for a delicious dinner at Little Hanoi. I think Dad missed out big time. It was the best dinner so far.
The next day we walked down to the lake, Hoan Kiem Lake, which was covered in green slime. A 500 year old turtle popped up near the edge. Everyone ran to see it because it meant something would happen as this turtle hardly ever comes to this side of the lake. He popped up before and Ho Chi Minh died. Last year he popped up and there was a big flood. I hope this time it brings good luck.

We met a lovely girl called Flower. She is only 21 years old and she is married with a 10 month old baby. She was so nice she ended up showing us all over the city. Her English was excellent and she was so clever and funny.

We walked around the streets and watched the people mostly sell and prepare food. I can't write about some of the poor animals that were being killed on the footpath and sold for dinner. Flower stopped to tell us stories at every corner. We learnt about the war between the north and south of Vietnam. There were many deaths and still unexploded bombs are hidden around Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. An awful chemical was used to clear the trees but it was so bad that babies were born with horrible deformities.

The Vietnamese flag has a red background with a yellow star. The red represents the blood from all the wars and the yellow is for the dream of living in harmony.

We left Hanoi to go to Sapa and then Halong Bay. When we came back we stayed at the same hotel. That night dad was better so we went to have Bia Hoi and sat on the street corner eating peanuts.
The next day we went on a walk to Ho Chi Minh's tomb. Even though it was closed and I couldn't see it, it was really big. I'm not sure if I wanted to see a dead body that had been around for 42 years. Around the tomb were soldiers marching all in time. It was funny how they marched up the stairs. They blew their whistles if we got too close. Ho Chi Minh was the president of Vietnam until he died in 1969. All the north Vietnamese love him because he made Vietnam an independant nation. China ruled Vietnam for 1000 years then the French ruled for a hundred years and then America controlled for 20 years. Now Vietnam is a Communist country that rules itself.

After complete some school work, we went to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. There were lots of little acts like dragons swimming in circles and spitting water and buffalo's fighting. It was really good even though it was in Vietnamese and I couldn't understand what the story was about.

On the way back to our hotel we took a cyclo ride around the old quarter. It was a bit crazy being in all that traffic. Dad calls it 'utter chaos' and mum says it is 'harmonious mayhem'.

That night Kien, the hotel manager, invited us for dinner. It was a big dinner with lots of rice, vegetables and meat. Then we had to get the overnight train to Hue. A kind man from our hotel walked us out onto the main street, and waited for his friend to come with a minibus. By that time it was 6:30 and our train was leaving Hanoi at 7:00. We were all getting a bit worried, so dad had to tell him that we weren't going to wait anymore. The man then pulled over 2 taxis, and 3 people hopped in each. The funny thing was that my small suitcase went in the boot, while dad had to squeeze his huge bag in the 2 seats we were sharing. Then the taxi driver almost took off with Pete's head in the door. So Pete had to jump into the car with his suitcase. We sped across the mad streets of Hanoi and got to the train station just in time. We had to run up the railway tracks to get on the train and then it choofed off.

Charlotte