Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We have been back in Hanoi for the last three days but will thankfully be leaving tonight. Don’t get me wrong I’ve enjoyed Hanoi and all it’s chaos but it’s time to get out of the city. It’s just too damn hot and I just wasn’t built for heat. I feel like I should have shed about a dozen pounds by the way I’m sweating but it doesn’t seem to work like that. Unfortunate.

We’ve been taking it quite easy round two in Hanoi. That’s probably because I’ve been sick for pretty much the whole time. I definitely should have heeded the don’t drink the water or ice warnings as I’ve been paying for it but I seem to have recovered.

We did by chance happen to catch the beginnings of the moon festival while we were here. The festival originated to celebrate the largest of the full moons and to mark the end of the harvest. Now it is more of a celebration for children with colored lanterns masks and dragons. For us it meant that the busiest street next to our hotel was shut down to traffic each night and instead a market opened up. Jacob and I did a bit of shopping for some much needed cooler apparel.

For our last afternoon in Hanoi we are sitting next to the lake in the centre of the cityi trying to pass the time until our overnight bus leaves for Hue then onto Hoi An. We thought we might be able to escape the near 40 degree heat by coming down to the water but no such luck. All of the other couples seem not to notice the heat though. Everyone else is dressed in jeans and long sleeved shirts and sitting as close together as they can get. I on the other hand have my shorts rolled up and am sitting about as far away from another person. Luckily we are off to the beach for the next little while where I intend to spend the better part of my day sitting in the water.