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Panoramic fun #1
The best banh mi in Vietnam?
This place in Hoi An’s old city came highly recommended and it was damned fine.
Tuffy P had hers with just egg, veggies and chilies… 
…while I had mine fully loaded…pate, various meats, crunchy pork skin, eggs, veggies, chilies.
Lantern town – Hoi An
Feet in the ocean
Rain stopped and it theatened to clear up by the time we stopped in Da Nang in Central Vietnam for lunch. It was still cool but I couldn’t resist getting my feet wet in the sea. This is the so-called China Beach where scores of American troops landed during what the Vietnamese called the American war. 
Tomb of the 12th Nguyen king, Hue, Vietnam
Halong Bay
Squid boat , Halong Bay
Floating grocery, Halong Bay
Halong Bay is one beautiful place. I’ll write about it at some length when I get back to Canada. Meanwhile, here’s a taste.
Off to Halong Bay
Bye bye wifi for a couple days….we’ll be on a junk in Halong Bay
Arrived in Hanoi
It was great to get to our hotel after so long traveling. After a shower and a long nap, we headed toward the Opera House on foot. There was a symphony performance about to start so we checked it out. It was an East meets West experience with an orchestra of over 50 Vietnamese musicians played 4 Aaron Copland pieces and more.
After the performance we wandered around looking for a place for dinner. We stopped at hole in the wall hot pot place, which was very busy.
They gave us loads of food. The hot pot came on a little stove and it bubbled away as we added in the various elements of the dinner. There was a huge amount of shaved beef, mushrooms, various greens and herbs, with chopped up chilis on the side and very small limes to squeeze in. Amazing dinner, enjoyed with tea and beer.
A couple next to us helped us out, showing us how to go about enjoying the hot pot.
Tomorrow we have the day free to wander around Hanoi, then we’re off to Halong Bay.
The Longest Mosaic Wall in the World
It runs along a busy roadway parallel to the Red River in Hanoi for 4 miles and it is spectacular. Nobody at the hotel knew what we were talking about, although I’d bet the people we asked had driven along it on their scooters many times. We had a cab drop us most of the way along the wall and we walked along it in the other direction.
This ceramic mural was unbelievably extensive and varied.
Meanwhile on the road, thousands of motorbikes honked and jostled past.
At one point we stumbled into a morning produce market on the other side of the wall, vendors all around with heaps of veggies and fruit. In many places it was like the other side of the wall was a whole different world of hole in the wall businesses and residences.
Travelin’ music
Since Tuffy P and I are going to take off for a little R&R soon, I thought I ought to post a traveling tune. So….from back when there were two types of music, country AND western, here’s George and Tammy performing Milwaukee Here I Come.
27th Street 