Ha Noi

After a 4 hour bus ride back to Ha Noi, we settled in for 3 more days and then finally headed home. Ha Noi has a flavor of it's own. The site of the home of Ho Chi Mihn and the communist government of Veitnam, it has more Chinese & French influence and an amazing old quarter that is a cross between New Orleans & old Asia. Very different vibe from Siagon and great food. We did a city tour that included the Ha Noi Hilton (prison for POW's during the VN War) and the museum of Ethnology. We also met up with my high school classmate Mitch who took us to an amazing sushi dinner and showed us around his favorite sites. Again, I could have stayed a week in Ha Noi, but you have to come home sometime. Gate 1 tours and our guide (Voung) did a fantastic job with our flights, buses, tours and hotels. Voung shared a lot about the history of Vietnam, the culture, the war (from their perspective) and a lot of his families personal history, which makes it a lot more real and fun. He was an accomplished martial artist as well and we had a few sessions were we did Tai Chi, push hands and sparred around a little. So much fun! 
I've also added my GoPro vidoes to this post from throughout the trip!
Enjoy
RJ

Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay had to be one of the highlights of the trip. We had an amazing room over looking the city and took the 5 hour boat tour of the bay with the 1,969 limestone islands and a huge cave to explore

. Such a breathtaking day. Could have spent a week there!