From 1979 - 1985 millions of people left Vietnam for various reasons, high ranking officials from South Vietnam feared for their lives as the Communists took over, many people didn't want communism, there was a draft in Vietnam for the Cambodian war. These people were all called boat people because they all left Vietnam in boats, hoping to find a new life somewhere else.
Our tour guide was one of them. He left Vietnam in a boat when he was 15 with his 17 year old brother because they didn't want to fight in the Cambodian war. He spent 5 1/2 years in a very, very difficult refugee camp in Thailand. His brother married a girl who had been accepted to come to America, so he escaped the camp and now lives in South Carolina, but our tour guide wasn't so lucky. After 5 1/2 years in the refugee camp, he had to return to Vietnam. According to rules set forth by the United Nations and the U.S. Government, the Vietnamese government had to pardon him and allowed him to start his life again.
While he was in the refugee camp, he studied English by listening to cassette tapes of the English language about 4 hours a day. He did this in hopes of becoming a tour guide some day. When he got back to Vietnam, he got his certificate in English, but he couldn't be hired as a tour guide until he had his high school diploma. So he finished high school in early 1997 and got his first job as a tour guide. He as now been a tour guide for 20 years with various companies. We were so glad he share this information with us. We continue to have such respect for his hard work, focus and willing to do whatever is needed to help the group have a great adventure...and we are!
Unfortunately, as we drove back to Hanoi, the smoke was even thicker than the day before.
By the time we got to the hotel, I was having a lot of trouble, so Steve went out and bought me a mask to wear. Yikes, is he really going to make me wear it?
We checked into our rooms at the Chalcedony Hotel. Once again, a very nice room, but we later found out that we got jipped. Chris and Helen had a much nicer room with a beautiful balcony....it was their turn!!!!
Then we met up in the lobby at 6:30 and headed out to dinner. Papa Khanh told us about a restaurant called Cha Ca, which only serves one thing... a Vietnamese dish called Cha Ca, which is pan fried fish served with greens. So we decided to give it a try.
When we sat down at our table, they brought us our menu. It was pretty straight forward!
It was about $7 per person. So we told them we would like six please. They brought it out and cooked it right on our table. Kind of fun!
Our dinner of Cha Ca was fun, but then it was time to head back out into the night to see what kind of adventure was awaiting us.
And of course, there is always an adventure. We're not sure what exactly this street vendor was selling, but at this point we were glad we had already eaten.
We quickly found our way to the night market, and had a great time just hanging out.
We bought Helen a fresh pressed sugar cane juice. She loves that stuff! We tried it and also really liked it!
And of course, she got to sit on a kindergarten chair to drink it.
They start riding motor bikes at a very young age here!
Then back to the hotel for a good night's sleep before our final day in Hanoi.
The rush of being back in the big city after our tranquil and relaxing cruise is a little overwhelming, but also exhilarating!
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