Originally written on November 1, 2004

We returned from Halong Bay Sunday night, and realized that we wanted to move along on our journey. It was time to book our train tickets to Hue. So, after a mehh breakfast we tried to book train tickets thru our hotel. After a lot of effort (different travel agencies, back and forth throughout the morning) we booked tickets through our hotel in the afternoon. It was too late to purchase tickets for Monday evening so we purchased tickets for Tuesday evening. Hmmm, another two days in Hanoi with no more tourist sites to see. What to do… We occupied Monday by mailing a package home (this took 2 hours) and wandering around the themed streets looking for grilling racks (for barbecuing veggies, shrimp etc.). I had seen them in the grocery store for 12000 dong but on the streets they were 20000 and in the market (which is supposed to be cheapest of all) they were 40000. The quality, and style were exactly the same. No one wanted to bargain, so we left empty handed. We bought supplies at an asian supermarket. Kirk was craving a hamburger, so we went to an aussie run joint and ate a hamburger and french fries with milkshakes. Cost usd?… I think… We spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to phone Canada from Vietnam. Prices range from .00 to .50 CAD a minute, and the cheapest price is done from a stuffy hot booth in the post office. We decided after much internet surfing that our families should call us, so we sent out an email asking them to call the next morning. We were stuffed from lunch, so skipped dinner and went to bed, after watching a movie or two on tv. -played to win some OMO -had bacon burgers -figure out phoning