Chapter 15
Yaël
Chanukah
This year we were able to light the candles several times. For the
first one, Ronit invited us to her home in Hanoi. It came at a good
time because the next day we had to welcome Yael & CO.
She does things very well: decorated house,
suvganiot,
activities for the children,
(Cori Michal's husband even had them make a top with a CD, a marble
and a cap).
Hanoi
So here we got together early in the morning. Is that the day would
be long and after 11 hours of flight and 6 hours jet-lag they all
held out very well.
We tried to make the main things starting with a stroll in the old
town
with a pho,
the lake
and the cathedrale.
As for the second candle of Chanukah, we all landed at Michal's from
the Embassy
before dinner in a real Vietnamese restaurant for once.
At the end, after a bit of climbing,
all but Yarden and I fell asleep at the puppet theater.
Halong Bay
Still beautiful despite the grayness.
Obviously among the companies the program doesn't vary much. Everyone
does the same thing;
starting with the traditional pee stop on the halfway in one of the
many tourists mills;
the kayaking,
the fishing party, the karaoke,
the egg roll making
and the pee stop of the way back.
But anyway no matter the activities, what matters here is the scenery
and at the end, everyone leaves happy.
To end the day, a true milk tasting.
Hanoi 2
This time we rather done the museums, the citadel one
where they all were happy to climb on the American tanks and planes,
and after a few snacks,
the Temple of Literature.
Then the cousins flew to Cambodia and us, while waiting for our bus
back, we tested all the rides from the small amusement park
and painted a beautiful princess.
As for the sleeper bus, it was like being in a space shuttle.
Yarden has well slept curled up between my legs and my bag.
At home, we were able to light the last Chanukah candles with the
beautiful chanukkiah that Mikha specifically crafted.
Ho Chi Minh
What can I say except that there are five times more mopeds than in
Hanoi and it's a bit more modern,
that at times it's somewhat reminds of Paris,
that changing terminal we must change the cart
and that they lit up the town very well for Christmas
and new years.
So we met up with Yael and co,
and Michael our guide took us around for a quick tour of the main
buildings
after which Gilad took us straight to El Gaucho.
The Mekong or the kingdom of the coconut
It's that our Yael has good ideas to do that by bike.
Apart from the sore butt for 3 days, the bikes worked well
despite David and Ariel's many falls off.
Both have really impressed us.
Fortunately, the run was all flat so not too hard,
especially for Yarden who between 2 songs didn't hesitate to take a
nap.
We also had Nam, our guide, the boss as he told us, full of energy
and who has successfully adapted to our top speed.
He told me that I had a northern accent in Vietnamese.
The roads were very nice,
intersected with trips by different boats and we really felt that the
route had been carefully prepared.
It's just the cold shower and the mattresses of our hostess on her island,
far from the first night in the hotel with the pool, which made Yael
grumble a little, but it was part of the trip.
In short a superb ride punctuated by
the traditional pee stop on the halfway to the area,
the coconut warehouse,
the rice warehouse,
the mini-cruise,
the lunch break,
the tasting breaks for the first day,
that ended with a good swim
at a nice hotel very fashionable among the neighbors
and a hot stone dish on real stones on a floating restaurant where
the fish are kept on a leash;
for the second day,
the broom making,
the cereal bars breaks,
the fish factory
in which we couldn't take pictures,
the tasting (and chewing for Ariel and Nathan) of sugar cane juice,
the whistles making,
the ferry crossing,
simply the break,
the lunch break,
the big ferry,
the coffee break,
the stroll through the market
before embarking
on a last ferry for a good night rest after a good cold shower
a little exercise
and a good diner
we helped
to prepare.
The third day,
after a gentle
awakening
and a breakfast at the water's edge,
very romantic,
we were already well trained,
the floating market,
the spiritual break,
(it's that there are a lot of Cambodian people
in this area),
the rice machine,
the cereal bars pause,
the sugar cane, the cereal bars and the coffee, all at once pause,
before a final lunch
and our back in town.
But even between these breaks
and especially the numerous photo stops,
we did ride the bikes a little.
Otherwise Ho Chi Minh was living it up, the food and the culture
festivals.
As for the war museum, it is quite moving.
Finally, after a trip to the market,
in the streets of the city,
a little pinapple
and lunch alone together,
is that holiday is tiring,
we said goodbye.
For our part, it's at the food festival where we wished the happy new
year.
And to end our trip, left to our own devices, the program was
the Cu Chi tunnels, very impressive,
especially the traps
and after 3 minutes,
we really want to get out;
and after the break became daily at the cats coffee shop ,
we spent a very artistic afternoon at the culture festival.
In the evening we finally had the right, after 5 days of rice, to
spaghetti,
and I a double massage.
Very nice the backpacker's neighborhood.
The next day we took the new dress to the park,
to the market,
and after a final coffee break still in the same place,
we too flew back.
