Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? HOME!!

And by CSD I mean the computer game, not the TV show of course. I used to be addicted. I kind of felt like I was on a hunt in the past 2 days: left Kochin in 9:00 am on Wednesday, arrived in Colombo (by the way- we saw the building that represents CSD in the game! that's where the reference came from), woke up at 2:00 (now that is not a legit hour, my friends!) left Sri Lanka at 7:00 am, arrived in Amman at 11:35 am which to us was 14:00 pm and waited until our flight to TLV which was at 10:00 pm (12:30 pm for us. the whole half hour difference was really weird). Luckily RJA (Royal Jordenian Airlined) had hotel rooms so we could A. Sleep, and B. eat NON SPICY FOOD!!!!! never thought I'd be so eat peppers- when they don't make me feel like "oh-my-god-that's-so-spicy-i'm-about-the-blow-my-brains-out-and-hit-the-moon-now-please-get-me-some-water-quick". YES!!
And now we are back home! Back to an another possible strike, two final exams from last term, job finding etc....there is no place like home. photos to come when I get home for real (we are staying with my sister and gang..)
and here is a spoiler- Carmen San Diego was caught:-) see you in prison!

Kochin

We are now in Kochin- the area were my family came from. We are staying in Ernakulam- the city (used to be just a town) my dad and my uncle were born in. We went to see the neighborhood yesterday: saw my dad's preschool and two synagogues, but couldn't locate the exact house and my grandfather's store (my grandfather was a butcher. Good thing he never knew his granddaughter is a vegetarian..). After looking for the place, we decided my dad will take pictures and show one of the other siblings (They are Nine) and figure out which of the houses is the one. In the meantime we've taken pictures of all the optional ones so once we know we'll have a photo of the house:-)
Later we went around town (which is one big city these days). We were all so fed up with the Indian food we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. It was good not to have my mouth on fire for one night.
Other than that My funny signs collection is getting bigger and bigger! Today's hit: a sign saying "Dutch cemetery" and underneath on small letters another saying "God's own country" or something like that. I thought it was historical.
Another thing to be mentioned is the daily power cut off. Unbelievable. There hasn't been a single day with no power cuts. Makes me feel right at home!
can't believe I'll be home in Three days.

Thekkady- Masa Alukot

So, it's been a few days. We have been to quite a few places, and now we are in Munnar- our last stop before Kochin. The road was rather steep and incredible. Tea plantations, trees, mountains, lakes- gorgeous.
Today's amusing story: yesterday we were in Thekkady- a very toured area. We decided to go on an organized trip which included a jeep safari, a hike and boating. We got up at 5:00 am (ugh) and left. The safari part was OK- no animals though- they promised elephants, cows, tigers.... it was showering rain.
We had breakfast in a pavilion in which some guy gave us a lecture about the area. Jees, the mans accent was totally unfamiliar to the human ear, and I couldn't stop giggling. He spotted that and lectured me (!!) which of course made me giggle even more. In the showering rain we left for our 3 hours hike. The good news- we saw animals. The bad news- they were leaches! Millions of them! We weren't quite prepared for that, so basically every ten seconds we had to stop for salt pouring and tried poking them with a stick. It was actually quite hilarious. The best part was when all of a sudden Nili started screaming and jumping around- she had a leach leaching its way on her hand. Being the good sister I am, I started smirking and moved to laughing my ass off seeing how funny the situation was. Eventually the leach was off and I paid my due- after peeling my rain sleeves, socks and shoes I realized one very brave leach nibbled on my leg. Oh well, who needs blood anyway?
On another note, we also visited an ashram a few days ago. Being an amazingly cynical person, I wasn't all that impressed, but we are thinking of sending my dad there for a while.
As mentioned we are now in Munar and are leaving tomorrow for Kochin- the cream on the top of our trip.
Shabbat shalom!

Bim bam bum, Trivandrum!

Or my way of saying I can't find a good enough title. Yesterday we arrived to the resort here in Poovar- Isolated Island very close to the beach- beautiful. We had a great time RELAXING seeing as we were exhausted. This morning we went back to Trivandrum (Thiruvanathapuram), went to see a Hindu temple, a museum, an old palace and the best part- the zoo. My uncle decided he has to see a tiger, therefor all of us went to the zoo. It was really funny, and we saw some really cool animals like monkeys, elephants, bambis (I know it's not their real name..), hippos (and a baby one too!) and- a tiger. We also saw a lion who I think looked exactly like Scar.
Funny thing for today- this time around we found a very interesting way to point out toilets for men and women. Here are Three examples: at the zoo there were photos of a man and a woman. At the resort there was a "He" and a"She" and today's winner- "King" and "Queen". Never in my life have I felt so royal as I did in the bathroom.
So far India is very cool- It is sort of what I pictured in my head. It is really cool that my aunt and uncle can communicate, and very useful too. But we all agreed that we must figure out how to do that head movement from side to side  (Nili and I have been practicing). Nurit and Shimon have been trying to teach us Mali Alam. Man, this language is a bitch . I can, however share with you the fact that my vocabulary is made up of animals mostly- I can say dog (patti), elephant (annah), frog (tavlachi), horse (something that sounds like Kudrah), and of course- monkey (korinechen). All pronounced very rolling-toung-ishly. I was so proud I could say monkey I sort of yelled it in the zoo. Yep, now a few Indian people think that I am weird. Well, I guess it isn't all that surprising.
I guess I'll call it a day- it's an annoying computer and due to the rain we had power cut off a few times (gees, shock)- won't risk it happening again.
photos to come.... sometime:-)

I almost forgot-

Feliz Compleano Rebecca Victoria Buenavida Benaderet!!!!!!

besitos (pichon)

from all of us


***that was suppose to be posted yesterday. don't know why that didn't happen. happy late birthday bruja!****

Kandy can do it- and you can do it to!

Quick note: I don't have much time to post for real, so I will edit and add at some point. but here is a recap for the time being:
Hooray, we made it to Sri Lanka. We arrived at 4:00- great time to start traveling... or not. On our first day we went to visit Kandy- a city in the center of Sri Lanka. The scenery was very similar to the the one I have seen last year in south east Asia- Coconuts, pineapples, trees etc.
We are a group of 8 people- my parents, little sister, my uncle Shimon and his wife Rachel, and my aunt Nurit and her husband Richi (and me. I guess). We visited a culture show which, I must say, wans't a huge hit BUT- and that goes to all of you who know Hebrew- we saw people HOLCHIM AL GECHALIM! now that was cool. Afterwards we went to see a temple and heard a lot about the Buddhism and the history of Sri Lanka by our tour guy Roy.
After basically crashing to bed we woke up and went to see an elephant orphanage. now that was just cool! We saw how they feed them with milk-the mommy elephant was standing near by and couldn't swallow- so it sort of seemed like she was dancing the disco, and sad as it was, it seemed kind of funny. then we went to see the herd going to the river. It was very nice, and we saw a blind elephant which was led by a guy and tied so he wouldn't get hurt, and a TRUMPELPIL- an Elephant with a missing leg. Maybe that is  a good time to point out the fact that one of nickname at home is "Elephant" since, well, I'm not all that graceful and should I say- super clumsy. So I had to take a picture with an actual elephant. I found it amusing..
later my dad and my sister insisted on riding elephants- and so we did. The official excuse my dad gave- "I'm doing it for my grandchildren". Yeah, right. It was fun though- Nili and I rode and elephant named "Nona". She was very cute and splashed quite a lot. we are thinking of adopting her and writing a musical about it. It'll be a hit for sure.
later we got back to Colombo and spent the (sort of )night there- we had to get up at 4:00 (awwwww) to get to out flight to whatever-way-they-spell-it-but-it-is-called Trivnadrum in India. We made all right- we all got a real kick out of seeing the head movement the Indians make. The cooler part is having Shimon and Nurit, my dad's sibling, communicating fluently in Mali-Alam, the language spoken in Kerala (the province in which we are staying). The ironic thing is that out of all Three my dad was the only one who actually remembers India from his childhood, but he doesn't speak Mali Alam all that well. If you ask me it sound more like people mumbling with their tongues.
Anyhow I have to leave now and hand the computer to my darling sister. will add more at some point.
Shavua tov!

India,here I come!

Man, it sure has been a while.... anyway, a lot has happened in the past year since I got back- got back home, started Uni, striked, worked, striked some more, lived and all the rest of the blah blah.
However, it so happens that I am leaving for Sri-Lanka and India in two days. Will be traveling with La Famillia for two weeks (and a day. horray fot that!). The master plan is as follows- 3 days in Sri Lanka, and then Kerala- a province in southern India, where my dad was born and grew up (what in outstanding coincidence). He is rather excited about the trip (and umm, so are the rest of us).. So I hope I'll find the time to update my traveling blog, but since it'll be rather short and very intense- I am not sure it'll happen.
so meanwhile- Happy Sukkot people!

My last post? very possible....

Well, I am home, Believe it or not (I still don't quite frankly). And here's what I have been up to in my last days in Thailand:
Well, since I had lots of time to spare and errands to run, I got up yesterday morning, happy and full of spirit (I got Ruach, Yes I do!)- After running my errands I headed back to my room...only with no key. Slightly panicked I went to the clerk, mumbling something about leaving my key in my room, and after almost an hour he let me in- only to find out I did in fact drop it on the floor before I left. Tough call. The place hates Israelis (Can't blame them, though), so I was rather worried....but It turned out for the best.
Then it occurred to me that I still have almost 9 hours left, so I handled it in the female way- went shopping at the mall. Oh god, it was painful. But fun.
Then I decided to see Harry Potter (quite an over dose since I'm reading the last one) when something unexpected happened- the screen showed the following announcement:"Please pay the proper respect to his majesty", as the national anthem was playing and photos of the king were rolling on the screen. Everyone stood up. I was completely baffled by the whole thing, and it was rather...unusual. They sure love the king...
After that I went back to Khao San road, spent lots of time doing lots of nothing and headed on to the airport-and 11 hours later I got Home!
The funny thing is that my cousin in making Aliyah and joining the army, so right after I was picked up by my sister we headed off to her Aliyah ceremony- Which I have to say was very nice, very exciting and a very strange way to spend my first few hours back in Israel after being away.
Anyway, I guess this is my last post...since I'm back I don't see much point of proceeding. I will however post a short update when I put up the last batch of photos.
For all of you who read my blog for the past Three months- well, thanks I guess. Not sure if any of actually did, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Sivan

Kho Phangan- welcome to Israel

So here I am now, in Kho Phangan, after finishing the course. On the last day we did 3 dives- two of them included sharks- which was extremely cool, and the third one was a night dive and a night mare- which included an incident with a sea urchin- my foot was not  content.
So 2 days ago, I left and now I am in Kho Phangan- which is pretty much like the Israeli colony- I hear Hebrew everywhere. Plenty of Hebrew signs, restaurants etc. Until today Anat and Shiran, the girls I did the course with were here and it was lots of fun- We went to the beach, got a massage, and basically just fooled around.Today they left for Kho Samui and I am staying here until tomorrow morning when I will be leaving back to Bangkok.
So this is it...I guess I won't be posting much since it's the end of my trip... I cannot believe I am going home in 2 days!!!!

Kho Tao- swin said the mama fishy

Once again, it's been a few days but here I am now in Kho Tao (Turtle Island). It's one of the three main Island of the southern west coast, it's about 26KM big. The main area is located down the coastline- not much on the actual Island.
Kho Tao is famous for the diving courses- I finished my open water today (equivalent to 1 star) and in two days will complete the advanced open water, the PADI (2 stars). The aquatic life are absolutely amazing. Reefs, fish, we even got a glimpse of sea horse- this time alive, and in it's natural habitat (rather than dead and on a stick. Refreshing). Beautiful.
My ears are slightly less fond of me  since I've started the course, but it really is nice. We are a group of Four (we were 5, one dropout), all Israelis with an Israeli instructor named Mattan, and the course itself is in Hebrew, which I found rather useful.
Other than that there isn't anything really outstanding in the Island- it's very pretty, expensive and well- that's about it.
On another note- I am proud to say I am am a proud owner of a Harry Potter copy (including an amazingly ugly mug I got with)- started reading it today. I also finished the first Jonathan Safran Foer book (Everything Is Illuminated)- Must say that either I really didn't get it or I didn't understand. Anyhow, I liked the second one better.
So this is it... Can't believe that next week on this time I will be just a few hours prior to my flight... I am excited, I must admit.

Where am I? Oh, yes, in Thailand

Yes, it's been a few days since I have last written. Well, after spending an extra day in Siem Reap I went back to Phenom Penh, where I randomly met a guy I have known from China which happened to be on the same flight the following day. So we hung out together, which was quite nice.
The following day we took a flight to Bangkok and and left Cambodia. I must admit, I wasn't that fond of it- especially after Amir (the guy) told me that the room he shared with his friends was broken into and their stuff were stolen. Now that sucks.
Anyway, I am back in Bangkok....weird how I REALLY hated it at first and now it's actually rather nice.
It's unbelievable how five minutes after I got here I already ran into people I met in China, Vietnam, Cambodia... yep, sure is a kibbutz galuyot.
Yesterday I ran errands....so nice to have clean clothes, I almost forgot what it felt like. yay! and I also went to China town with two girls named Dana (both)- I have to say that after being to the real thing, Chinatown is a disappointment.
so to make it up we went to the MBK- huge mall. how incredibly feminine of us.
Tonight I am heading to Kho Tao and tomorrow I will be starting the diving course and get my PADI. yay!
last thing- finally got some photos up!

Angkor Wat (wait, what?)

Well, yesterday I went to see Angkor- the center of temples located 8 KM from Siem Reap. It wasn't quite as I expected it to be, but it was lovely. Photos to come- once I make peace with what for reason is called "High Tech". God, it keeps getting worst. Gevult.
Anyway Sarit, Ayelet and myself had a Tuk Tuk driver (the most common way to get around seeing it's huge)- a very funny guy named Meth.
We got to see the Angkor Wat (what?)- the famous temple which is can also be found on the national flag of the Cambodia kingdom, and Angkor Tom, and even the place where Tomb Reider movie was shot. Yep, if it's good for Angelina, it's also good for me. Right.
The whole day was rather exhausting- by 16:00 we gave up and headed back to Siem Reap (which by the way, means Thai losers. Honestly. Isn't that just hilarious?)- so we didn't get to see the sunset.
At evening, we were reminded we are in south east Asia- the power went off for like an hour, in dead heat....I am getting used to it by now.

Today Sarit and Ayelet took off, so I was on my own again. I went to a place were they train blind people to give massages- it was awesome and worth every cent (and it was damn cheap). oh, it was fantastic.
Tomorrow I will be heading back to Phenom Penh.... Yipi...

Cambodia- Angkor What?

So here I am in Cambodia, after Two days of long rides, one killing field and quite a few temples.

I arrived in Phenom Penh on Friday afternoon, settled in the guest house and along with Ayelet and Sarit, two girls I met on the bus, went to the Killing fields. I must admit I fell like such an ignorant- I knew nothing of what was going on here only 20 years ago. In two sentences, in favor of those who have no idea what I am referring to- in the mid 80's, after Vitenam backed out of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, a guerrilla movement terrorized the country in a similar way to Chairman Mao- they executed almost 2 million people (!)- mostly foreigners or people who were suspected to be high educated (for example- people with eye glasses) after torturing them in camps. Today, one of the largerst evidence, minus the horrible economic situation, is the killing fields, where one can see mass graves and, quite horrifying, a huge monument made with real human skulls.

After being there we got back to Phenom Penh (rumor has it it's a capital. No real evidence for that;-)), and went to check out the riverside.. quite nice.

In general, there is quite a resemblance between Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos- or as they would say- "Same same but different". The local currency in the Real but hell, who am I kidding? it's US Dollars. They are by far more used than the Real.

Yesterday we left Phenom Penh in favor of Siem Reap- which caught me by surprise. It seemed at first to be a real dump, but turned out to be a very touristic and cool town. Of course, the only reason for that is the fact it is located 8 km from Angkor Wat- the ancient temple center, which is also where I am heading to tomorrow.

After wandering around town for a while I ran into a friend- an Irish guy named Owen and we went to drink with two British girls we both knew from different places. It was nice, but man, drinking with 3 British really tested my abilitly to think straight.

Anyway tomorrow we are going to spent the entire day in Angkor. I really hope it's going to be good.

Saigon. Sigh. Gone.

And the pun is there for a reason. What can I say? Ho Chi Minh City is huge- and it's divided to districts- the biggest one is district 1- AKA Saigon. And that was just a useless piece of information.
Yesterday I went to what used to be "The American War Crime Museum"- and these days is called "The War Remnant Museum". Wow. Unbelievable. It really was shocking, although it was one of the only signs of hatred towards the Americans for as far as I spotted. But it was quite tough- photos (hopefully) to come.
Today I went to see the Mekong Delta. It was nice- though I didn't get to see to actual Delta. I went on a tour to Mytho, a town located right by the riverbank, then continued on a boat to see Coconut candy making (yum), and then some boat rowing, fruit tasting and local horrible music hearing (music is not the word I'd use for it) -and back to Saigon.
I also decided that I am leaving tomorrow to Phenom Penh in Cambodia. I still need to get the actual ticket, but it seems about right.
Anyway this is it for now... once again, photos to come- once I get a computer that won't be out beat by a limping Turtle with a blister. Hoping for the best!

Muy Ne- Muy Kef?

Actually the answer for that is no- I was quite disappointed. But first, I must share with you what appears to be the best form of toilet I had seen- and I had seen quite a few. Seriously, I thought the public restrooms in China was the highlight, but clearly I was wrong: on the way to Muy Ne, the bus made a stop (as they often do). I was very happy since nature was calling- screaming, might I add- so like a typical female I rushed to the toilet. Now, here is the thing- I went to the cell, booth, room- whatever you'd call it- only there was NOTHING, other than a bucket of water and a teeny tiny hole in the wall. After a few minutes I figured out that one is pee ON THE FLOOR and wash it out with the bucket through the teeny tiny hole in the wall. Holly shit (scratch that- holly pee). In case you were wondering- I went out and found a bush. That was just too much for me.
Muy Ne is a one-street-town right by the coast, the beach is amazingly beautiful, and the place is so peaceful, but for some reason I just didn't connect to the place. Not sure why.
I spent an entire day there- got there at noon, wandered around, went to a place called "The fairy stream"- not sure way- and to the waterfall.
The following morning I took a sunrise trip to the great sun dunes- It was amazing, only I have a problem with the fact that 10 year old kids are up, following you around, carrying your stuff, help you sand surf and then beg you for money, and then ask for more. It really makes me sick.
Sand surfing wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, but the concept is cool- you surf down the dunes.
Anyway, by 14:00 I was on my way to Ho Chi Minh city- AKA Saigone, which is where I am now. More to come about that later...

Nha Trang- or "Yay, I have a title!"

God,I really can't understand why some computers here do cooperate and some don't. Oh well.
Anyway, I am in Nha Trang at the moment- a city which is famous for it's great beaches and water sports. I arrived here 2 days ago, after 13 hours on a bus (including a flat tire), and after arriving, it took me almost 3 hours to find a place to crash. It is that packed.
The beach is rather nice, though I must admit I liked Hoi An's beach much better,but the water here are clear, and lovely, and it is quite nice.
Yesterday morning I took a tour to the near by islands, along with two Israeli guys I met- I'm sure the tour could have been great, if only I wasn't THAT sea sick. It never happened to me before, but  it was rather windy, and like 5 or 6 people got sea sick. The scenery was amazing, and every time the boat wasn't moving it was very nice. We went Snorkeling and got to see some fish, and later a bunch of us just sat at the beach at one of the Islands. On the way back we stopped at the aquarium- and got a glimpse of some water creatures. All and all it was nice, but again- being nauseous did not leave such a great impression.
Today I decided to take a "day off"- just hang out, find a book to swap and chill. I went to see a great sculpture of a sitting Buddha- 25 meter tall. Tt wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be, but hey, I am not messing around with no Buddha.
anyway, that's it for now... tomorrow I will be heading toward Muy Ne- and I hope it will be good. Check out my photos!

You are not going to believe his, but guess what? I have uploaded photos! yay for me!
Enjoy:-)

And yet, another title-less post:-) It getting better and better...
So I am now in Hoi An, a small town by the river side and the ocean.
It is well famous for its tailors- there are over 200 tailors and clothes shops. I promised myself I won't cave in and get some stuff made- and of course, I failed miserably- I guess that's where my feminine side kick in. I am getting 3 pairs of pants, 3 skirts and a coat, and trust me- It's NOTHING compared to the wardrobes other people are getting. Insane!
Other than that, the town is pretty mellow- it has a nice "old town" thing going on by the riverside, where one can find restaurants, shops, and of course- lots and lots of tailors. I must say it is rather pretty.
Today I decided to check out the beach- oh man, what a beach. It is located about 3 KM from town, which I gladly biked to until I almost fainted from the heat, but it was so nice, and peaceful, and quite surprisingly uncrowded at all. I spent about an hour and a half- until it had to start raining... Yeah, Murphy is getting a real kick out of this one.
Also, I am glad to say that I finished "Lost In Translation" (nice, but not the best) and that I finally found someone to swap books with, and will be reading "The Kite Runner", which I must admit- I started once and never got to finish. So that's exciting! And I am such a geek. But who cares?
Tomorrow evening I will be heading toward Nha Trang- a good 12 hours bus ride.. But it should be amazing, so I am looking forward to it.
So, that sums up this addition of "My traveling- why would anyone care? I don't know, but what the hell".
Enjoy!
oh, yes- still no photos. sigh.

OK, first thing's first- I thought once I leave China my Blogspot issues will be over, but NNNOOO... I think the computers of the world are united against me. So that's why my last post looks the way it does, and why I cannot view other blogs (Doron, Alon, Erica, James etc.) as well as why there are no new photos (though I my camera is loaded) and why there is no title.
I have left Hanoi on Saturday and after what appeared to be a life time, though it was only 13 hours, I got here. On the way the driver stopped for fuel- then couldn't restart the engine and like 10 passengers had to push the bus to help him start. It really was funny.
Hue is a small town, located about 110 Km from the DMZ. They also have that annoying habit to hover around you with "you want hotel?" "you want food?"- but at least here they did realize I am female. so I guess that's a good development. I arrived at 8:00, obviously crashed for a few hours and then just wandered around, and today I went to the DMZ. The DMZ (DeMiliterzied Zone) is the 10KM strip that separated North Vietnam and South Vietnam until the war ended. It crosses the country from west to east- From the South China sea to the Lao border, and during the Vietnam war there were American forces located there.
I saw the famous Hi Chi Minh trail, which was heavily bombed during the war, and also the Vinh Moc tunnels- 3 levels of tunnels, hidden in the mountain by the coast, where Vietnamese villagers hid during the heavy bombing on their villages.  It's quite amazing- they have "family rooms"- holes on the main trail of the tunnel, tiny hole for 3-5 people. They also had a maternity room, where 17 babies were born in the time period of 6 years. There is also a crater in the forrest, which was created with the great help of a B52 bomb.
I think what made it most interesting for me was the fact that amongst the group there was a Vietnamese man who was a helicopter pilot during the war, it southern Vietnam. He later immigrated to the states and that was his first trip back there with his family- was very interesting.
Later I went to see the Dahkron bridge and the combat camp- they have American helicopters and a museum- some Vietnamese guy tried to sell me an American dog tag- how low can you go?
As said, I've get many photos, I am just waiting until the hostile electronic device forces will seas fire.
Tomorrow I am hopping back on the bus and heading toward Hoi An- also knows as the tailor town- there are more than 200 of them and you can get clothes especially made for ridiculous prices. Now that's going to be fun....
So this is it. Nothing witty or sarcastic this time. Sorry...

Hanoi- or "Hey mister, you want motorcycle"?

Yep, apparently I look like a man, or so the Vietnamese motor cycle riders thinks.
So yesterday and today I have appeared to be in every freakin museum in Hanoi- and there are quite a few, must I say. I went to the women's museum, which I am sure in nice, only it was renovated so only two exhibitions were opened, and then to the Hoa Lou prison- also known as "Hilton Hanoi". It was actually rather interesting to see- they have lots of stuff from the French period and from the American one- when the prison was used to imprison American pilots whose planes got knocked down by the Vietnamese.
Today I went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum- unbelievable security - they made me turn in my bag, as well as electronic devices- apparently the noise disturb Ho Chi Minh... just kidding. Actually I thought the entire concept was rather creepy but I have to say that it was impressive- though I read Ho Chi Minh himself asked to be cremated. And when you pass by, there are 4 guards making sure you are quiet, and of course- that he won't run away:-)
the Museum near by was weird. Wasn't entirely sure what the message was, but I found the exhibits quite interesting. To complete the the experience I later visited the Army museum. I must say that they have given it quite a lot of thought, locating the national flag tower right next to an exhibition of of Air crafts taken down from by Vietnam from the French and American periods.
Other than that I decided to skip Halong Bay and Sapa and tomorrow night I will be heading toward Hoa- on the open bus. Hopefully I will upload photos shortly..or not.