Singapore to Hanoi

Good morning Vietnam! 

All safe and well in Hanoi. 

We had fun in Singapore, by the time we found our hotel and got checked in we had some tired bunnies so we went for a stroll and found some delicious food. Larissa (aka Larry) took out the prize for most adventurous by demolishing some pig tail soup! 

Up early in the morning to catch our connecting flight to Hanoi. Captain Shrimp managed to leave his bag at the hotel. We will let you guess who that was! A quick phone call to the hotel and all was well. Luckily we were there with plenty of time! We learnt to navigate the airport and had another good flight over to Vietnam. It took about 3 hours. Sharla (aka Janice) watched Scooby Doo. 

Once we got to Hanoi, we had the most intense customs experience (not) and the transport team sorted a shuttle, we exchanged our money into dong and got Captain Shrimp's phone hooked up with a SIM card. 

Arrived at our accommodation, settled in and had a team talk. By this point we were all a bit jaded and starving so went for an explore and found a splendid local cafe with excellent people watching windows. We are learning to cross the chaotic roads and have also learnt that lots of people want our money! Tyler (aka Ewen) had an experience with a banana seller who wanted to dress him up, he is also quite popular with the Vietnamese girls!!! He has been asked for a few photos today! 

 

 

We met another world challenge team when we were out exploring the city. They gave us some good tips and some business cards to get in touch with for Ha Long Bay. After exploring the city (search is on for the most ridiculous bum bags) we went back to the accommodation and got into our groups and did some fantastic planning. Out for dinner where we had traditional pho and stir fries - delicious!!! Had a wee ice cream after and now all in bed ready for exploring more of Hanoi tomorrow - planning on seeing some museums and visiting the markets. 

We are having an awesome time - looking forward to a day without travel and taking in all the sights and smells! - did you know the rubbish trucks here play music as they pick up all the bins. 

We have happy students and happy adults! A few photos from today - hope all is well at home. 

 

 

 

Will get the students to update you as we carry on with our adventure. 

Pip and Sharla