Hanoi, Vietnam

We arrived in Hanoi in the morning and we so excited to see our hotel. We had booked it online and couldn't wait. It was our first 5 star hotel of the trip and I knew it was going to ROCK.

As I was looking out the window on the drive I realized how lucky that I truly was to be born in the United States. It takes a trip to countries like this to really appreciate what you have. We saw all the workers out in the rice patty fields and I can only imagine how hard their days are. 

We kept driving and I thought for sure that we were going the wrong way. It was taking forever to get there. Finally, the taxi driver says that we are about there. We were staying at the Luxor so I kept waiting for a huge hotel to show up. NOPE! The taxi driver pulls up this small hotel. I seriously started laughing. Another thing I had planned in my mind that wasn't turning out. lol

It wasn't until we went inside that changed my mind and attitude. It was five floors high with 2 rooms on each floor. There was a tiny lobby and a small kitchen downstairs. They upgraded us to the fifth floor and we had a cute little balcony with a fun view of the streets below.

BUT

The very best thing about this cute little hotel was the AMAZING staff. 

They were the best. They gave us a cool map of some of the cool things to do in Hanoi and set us up with a cool tour of Halong Bay in the morning. It is so hard to describe how wonderful these people were. They made us feel like we were the only people in the hotel. Every time we came down to the lobby they all stopped what they were doing to help. It was awesome.

Anyway, don't judge a book by it's cover. Favorite place we stayed!

Here was our little hotel- The Luxor.

Here was a picture of our room. Don't mind my arm. I apparently lost a hand somewhere between Thailand and Vietnam.

The picture on the left is of our balcony.

The picture on the right- We went to a Temple of Literature.

"The Temple of Literature, built in 1070, was a temple to Confucius. It was also Viet Nam’s first university and functioned for more than 700 years, from 1076 to 1779, educating the country's nobles, royalty, mandarins and other elite. Those who graduated had their names engrave on the stone stele that sit on large stone turtles in the temple. "

It was such a beautiful place to visit. I loved all the pavilions and the garden area.

Rhett loved all the pretty girls. :)

Walking the streets we came across "Dog Meat." I was pretty grossed out. The entire time that we were there I was very cautious about eating any meat off the street.

I did buy some cake from a little bakery. This sweet girl brought me a water and kept playing with us while we ate. I must have already been missing my kids.

The roads and traffic was SO BUSY. I mean like scary busy with absolutely NO rules to driving. I thought we were going to die for sure. Crossing the road reminded me of the game "Frogger."

The next stop for us was the Hoa Lo prison. It was used for the Vietnamese patriots and revolutionists and was labeled a real "hell on earth." It held up to 2000 prisoners at a time. The prisoners were given 2 meals of rotten rice, stunted vegetables, and rotten dried fish. They were also allowed 15 minutes a day for a shower and walk. They would all stand outside in a line and be squirted quickly with water while the jailers watched. It would have been hard to live like that. It was a humbling experience.

Some of the pictures showing what prison life was like. NOT fun!

From August 5, 1964 to March 31, 1973 Hoa Lo Prison was used to keep the American Pilots caught when they were attacking North Korea. The American pilots gave the Prison a new name of "Hanoi Hilton."

They had one of the actual guillotines used to execute Vietnamese revolutionists.

Among the American Pilots kept there was Douglas Peter Peterson, who became the first Ambassador of the USA to Vietnam and John McCain. 

Here is Rhett standing in front of John McCain's flight suit and gear.

One of the pictures of John McCain being treated by an Army doctor.

As we were walking the streets around the lake this guy wanted to draw us. I thought it would be fun. It was $4. :)

It was pretty mild when we first started. I was still a little embarrassed, but then tons of people just stopped to watch and I was horrified. lol

Hmm, not too bad. He hit Rhett perfectly. So now I have a picture of Rhett and a strange girl hanging up in my room. lol.

Just a few pictures of us walking around the lake.

There was this awesome tree branch over the water. I made Rhett climb out so I could get his picture. I really thought he was going to eat it on the way out. 

Just walking the streets of Vietnam.

This was actually on our way to get massages. WORST massage I have ever had, but I can't leave it out. It was hilarious. 

So we go to this massage parlor and head up to our rooms. I walk in and on the massage table is a mens swimsuit bottom, but nothing else. No sheets or towel or anything I was used to. I just kind of stood there not really knowing what I was suppose to do with these shorts.

The lady eventually comes in and shows me to take off my clothes. I hesitantly take off my shirt and shorts. She gestures to my bra so I take it off. Now I am standing in just my underwear. I lay down on my belly and she tries to roll me over. 

I am literally laying nearly naked with NO DRAPING whatsoever. I shut my eyes as tight as I can and she begins the massage. lol. She is just sort of pinching my skin between her hands. hahaha I am convinced at this point that this poor girl has never once in her life given a massage.

I feel her hands grab my panties and start to take them off. I'm like WTH!!!

So she rolls me over. I am now lying completely naked on her table. She is sort of pinching my skin attempting to massage all the while slapping the crap out of my legs. There were mosquitoes in the room with us. So now I am so freaking uncomfortable I can barely breath and itching like crazy. 

Oh wait, it gets worse!!!

She climbs onto the table and is now massaging my back while sitting on my bare ass. lol. Oh, and I forgot. She is chewing gum. I mean really chewing gum. Lots of smacking and popping bubbles. 

Ok, so the highlight.... she is sitting on my lower back massaging away. If that's what you can call and and all the sudden she totally lets one rip. hahaha. I am so done by this point. I can't take it. I start laughing out of control. I couldn't help it. I start to get up and she motioning that we still have time. I was like, "It's ok. I'm all done." Then, I start putting my clothes back on. She is just staring at me while I do it. It was like a train wreck. I am not a nudist by any means so I was so uncomfortable the entire time. I went out to the hallway to wait for Rhett to finish up with his. I had about 10 mosquitoes bites to keep my occupied while I waited. lol.

I asked Rhett how his was and he said it was amazing. The swim trunks were for a sauna in the room and them a bubble bath after. He also claimed his was an actual massage therapist. LAME! I wanted him to have the same experience I did. lol