Member Since: 17 Aug 2012
Location: Somewhere out back
Posts: 1292
Look on the bright side if google is wrong....
At least you be on a train going somewhere
Most excellent pics as always MY24 Defender 90 X-Dynamic HSE
MY18 Disco 5 HSE Santorini Black Now Gone.
25th Oct 2019 10:41 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
Just stamped out of PRC, next stop stamping into VN.
Loving the warning sign on the loos.
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25th Oct 2019 3:42 pm
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
Is this a new activity only present in PRC/VN?? Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
25th Oct 2019 3:47 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
Every place where everything just drops down on to the tracks.
25th Oct 2019 3:52 pm
Grianaig
Member Since: 08 Jul 2014
Location: Tyne and Wear
Posts: 1286
See the fitters of the plates decided to leave the marker lines.2014 MY Discovery XS Indus Silver. Sadly gone. Second last LR of forty eight years continuous ownership.
25th Oct 2019 5:17 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
They let us out of China & back to one of our fave places, Hanoi. Just looking for Banh Mis for breakie, they even have them with chips so Vietnamese chip butty!!
Few pics now we’ve got Viettel data sorted.
Really good train ride, it was an hour late so got to Gia Lam Station just before daybreak.
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Hopped on bus .....
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..... and now at Hoam Kiem lake where it seemed like half of Hanoi was exercising. Sounds like a fab place for a run tomorrow.
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Can’t get into our hotel for another 5 hours so having a lazy wander around.
26th Oct 2019 12:26 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
And I give i you Bahn Mi, think panini with french bread and lots of coriander. Different take on Bahn Mi by VN Masterchef winner, way tastier and cheaper than Micky Dees.
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Good to see peeps out in traditional dress!!
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And these streets were meant to be traffic free! Sharpening their skills before doing it for real.
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We have been a constant target of roving gangs of students and very young school kids looking to improve their English. It’s truly impressive how well some of these kids speak English, as young as 9!! If my hat wasn’t in my pack I’d be taking it off to them.
26th Oct 2019 3:59 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
Bit of a long day. We got into the station in E Hanoi about 5am, had local Wonga already so pretty quickly into the centre. Really easy to get a Viettel sim, about £4 for the sim (our old one had lapsed) with 7gb of 4g a week for the 2 weeks we are in Vietnam.
Whilst sitting around Hoam Kiem lake was really peaceful and great for people watching, mainly because the whole area becomes car & moto free, however we were too easy a target for the peeps looking to practise their English. After several “conversations” with peeps, bearing in mind we were knackered, we bugged out to a quieter park with no tourists.
We then had a bit of time walking to our hotel near the main station, getting reacclimatised to the crazy traffic and just moving around.
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Been nicely tucked up in hotel for a few hours, bit of slobbing/power napping. Great view out over the rooftops to the parliament complex & Uncle Ho’s place. AC is superb and really quiet. Happy days.
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Out for supplies, and it was getting hot. Prob 29c, we’ll according to watch, and muggy. Lovely temp. After we hit the local minimart we passed over a bit of Train Street track. No trains but imagine a honking great loco & carriages in this gap.
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Also stocked up on 3-in-1 coffee sachets. The Vietnsmese have a very sweet tooth so when in Spain etc. Unfortunately they don’t come with a free helicopter and make me look like James Bond.
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Slobbing rest of day planned, just seeing what’s on Vietnamese TV & watching the view.
26th Oct 2019 10:53 am
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
Glad to hear you arrived in VN safely and looking forward to more foodie pics and, of course, Mrs Del scowling at mopeds! Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
26th Oct 2019 12:46 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
I am both too scared and too close to suggest that to SWMBO, either that she scowls or that is her in the pic.
Pics from today.
Would you trust this travel agent? You just know when your tour goes PT they’ll say “but we were only joking!”.
Note use of stool on scooter for the little girl. The use of scooters here is something else.
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Great Soviet style statue at N end of Hoam Kiem lake, with a couple of wannabe revolutionaries.
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And we got collared by this group. It didn’t help that the lady (not sure if mother or teacher, suspect latter) had seen us on the bus we took to the lake/market area, our cards were marked. The young girl in green (aged 9) spoke fantastic English and was as confident as could be. SWMBO has now adopted the “that’s what they want to talk about, I’m going to ask the questions now” mode, much more helpful for their English skills. We helped about 4 groups today before we politely declined. It was nice just to sit and enjoy the ambiance in noisy peace and quiet. We did decline a few groups, and they were very nice about it. We ended up calling them Hunter Learner packs, but good on them, they really have a good ethos.
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And this was fun to watch. Make a tower as high as you can from wooden blocks.
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Jumping and dropping wasn’t a real success.
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But utilising the little helpers definitely did.
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Kem (ice cream) from a street vender, really nice. Tarrot on the left, durian on the right. I really liked them, SWMBO was less keen so bonus time for me. Not bad at 17p each.
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And lucky enough for SWMBO to catch on that the lights on the crossing were on and a train was coming, the 09:05 from Haiphong to Hanoi to be exact.
Peeps weren’t in a hurry to stop, actually were being waved through as the railway peeps there really tried to keep the traffic disruption to a minimum.
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Well we think it was the 09:05 from Haiphong, but for it to have been that train it needed to be on time. Which it was.
29c outside, and humid. Booooooooooootiful, esp when back in hotel with fab AC.
27th Oct 2019 6:34 am
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
Has there been much comment about the people found in the lorry container, all dead? It seems now they came from VN.DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
27th Oct 2019 8:52 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
Not to us, plus not really following things on VN tv. We’ll be passing near that village on the train tomorrow.
27th Oct 2019 9:39 am
dunton10
Member Since: 23 Dec 2006
Location: SUTTON COLDFIELD, WEST MIDS
Posts: 213
Hi del
Glad it’s going well and welcome back to Hanoi
When we stayed in Hanoi we were in this little boutique hotel right on the shore of the lake. I remember well the little electric cars outside on the day they closed the road. We also got caught up in a bit of tai chi with the locals around the lake.
If you want an authentic egg coffee then try to locate this place. Recommended by our waiter and used mainly by locals. No touristy crap, just little tiny plastic chairs.
Enjoy.
Steve
Currently 2015 D4 SE Tech, Corris Grey
RLD Protector, led interior lights, timed climate, towing equipment
Previously
2006 D3 S
2001 TD5
1996 Shogun LWB
1989 Range Rover TDVM
27th Oct 2019 2:51 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73007
Tried egg coffee last time and really enjoyed it, plus coconut coffee. Just got to make sure I avoid the Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, that’s too addictive for my sweet tooth.
Can’t go hunting for the egg coffee place tomorrow, we’re on a earlyish morning train to Vinh.
Re authentic cuisine, confession time. Had a beer in a park & felt a bit peckish so it was pizza time, of the Hawaiian type. Actually it was with a freshly chopped up pineapple and was delish! Looks a bit anaemic but did the job nicely.
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Washed down with the local, and not so local brew.
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27th Oct 2019 3:28 pm
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
The train pics really do define the phrase making use of every square inch Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
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