Thursday, November 2
Today was mainly a day of travel. Since I had some time before my flight to Hanoi I headed out for a walk around the old city of Chaing Mai.
Since I hadn’t ventured out on my own, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My goal was to get a tee shirt at the Hard Rock as I always try to pick one up on my international travels. Unfortunately when I got there it was closed as the actual hours were not the same as advertised. Too bad as they had some cute pink elephants in the window. On my 1.3 mile walk I passed no less than 20 massage places. So had I been in the market for a cheep and painful massage I would have been in luck. I did find a store where I got some cute pants. So the walk wasn’t a total loss.
Then it was off to the airport for my flight to Hanoi. A quick flight (under 1 1/2 hours) and a 45 minute drive to the Hotel Metropole Hanoi, where I am staying. It is a very different hotel from the last. Located in the French quarter, it is part of the historic hotels worldwide. It was built by a French man in 1899 and opened in 1901. Many famous people have stayed here including Charlie Chaplain. They even held tours, which I decided to join. They walked us through the new part of the hotel, where I am staying over to the original part and discussed its history of the hotel. Including showing us the bomb shelter that was built for guests and the diplomats that worked there during the war. Even Joan Baez stayed in the shelter when she was visiting and bombs were dropped. They said she composed her song “Where Are You Now, My Son?” in the shelter. After the war, the shelter was forgotten and was recently discovered when they built the new addition in the 90’s.
Photos
Additional photos coming