Friends come to visit

In Feb. my two friends, Connie and Robert stopped by Hanoi to visit with me. Greg also arrived while they were here. We took a trip to Ninh Binh to see the sights. We hired a car and driver and first went to Cuc Phong National Park. Along the way we saw this man selling pigs. What a racket they made.
After Cuc Phong we went to Ninh Binh. It was just after Tet holiday and everyone was now going to the pagodas to pray for luck and their ancestors. There were literally no rooms to rent except for the few John was able to find for us.
We all ended up going out for Hot Pot for dinner.
Sunday we took a boat trip at Trang An and boy it was crowded.
But the caves were still beautiful. After that we went to Bai Dinh Pagoda where everyone was offering up prayers for a wealthy new year. The whole complex is almost finished and looks really different from my previous times. Progress.
What a great time. It sure was good to see old friends.

Elephants in Laos

Can you believe this?

Went to Laos for a little holiday with my friend Marilyn. The first thing we did was take Mahout training at the Mahout Elephant Camp outside Luang Prabang. We did a day and a half on the elephants and then a half day kayaking down the river. We also spent an extra night in the lodge beside the Elephant Camp. What an excellent beginning to our holiday.