OK. Up through Canada, over arctic ice, down over Russia and China -- in the skies -- and descent into Hanoi. Then sleepy travelers obtained visas, met Hui, our tour guide, and headed for our wonderful hotel located on West Lake, a little way from downtown Hanoi. We know our Vietnamese tour guide will be a lot of fun: he fully expects he will learn our names (there are 25 of us on our odyssey) but right now we all look alike to him :) Fresh, wonderful beds awaited us at midnight. Morning came early with roosters echoing over West Lake; lots of cyclists on the roads at dawn.
