Friday, May 16th about 4:00 p.m.

Hello everyone,
First I want to acknowledge that today would have been Mama's 80th birthday.

Well, we just arrived back in Hanoi to the hotel after our overnight trip to Halong Bay. Check it out at http://wikitravel.org/en/Ha_Long_Bay. It was just incredible. We anchored about six o'clock in an inlet with all these other boats and just sat up on the deck in the beautiful warm night air looking at all the twinkling lights on the boats anchored around us and breathing the relatively clean air. Let me just say that I will never again take clean air and water for granted.

The food on the boat was incredible. When we first got on the boat it was about 1:00 p.m. so they served what we thought would be a light lunch. Instead it was a four course meal starting with crab in the shell (which tasted exactly like our lobster). I ate only the legs and our tour guide ate my body. She said I should eat the eggs (roe) in the body and I said no thanks but she was happy to get it. The second course was whole shrimp, take off the head, tail and peel off the shell and away you go. My God they were so good. The little frozen ones from Sobeys are just not going to cut it anymore. Third course was Squid. Yeap, squid and not breaded and deep fried. I don't know how it was cooked actually as I did not try it but those who did said it was not as rubbery as that at home. The fourth, and final course was a baked whole white fish ( all that Mia our tour guide could tell me was that it was a sea fish). Anyways, whatever it was it was delicious too. Rice and spinach topped off the course. For dessert, fresh fruit. I had orange slices, the first oranges I have seen since I arrived in Asia.

Speaking of that, what I would give for a cup of coffee and a real American breakfast. I am eating very little at breakfast because it is not food that I want first thing in the morning. This morning I sure should have eaten more as right after breakfast we sailed to a cave in Halong Bay. We had to climb 90 steps in the heat and then walk through and climb some more through three big caves. Quite a site but I had to set down a couple of times because of dizziness. I know it was the exertion, the heat and not enough in my belly as I hadn't eaten much for supper the night before either. Not losing any weight though. We manage to find western snacks here and there.

Drinking lots of water and Diet Coke. Not having too much alcohol as what is readily available is beer and of course I don't like that. I think I have had about three glasses of wine because it is very expensive here.

Okay,must close. We have a class here in the hotel in the morning and then a free day until 6;00 p.m. at which time we are going to go to Bill's friend Bruce's house for supper. Then early Sunday morning we are off to China.

We are going to name this tour "The Dodging Disaster Tour" as the typhoon in Myanmar hit when we were in Thailand and Myanmar is just north of there and now the earthquake in China which is just north of us here in Vietnam. However, not to worry. We are all safe and sound so far and starting to look forward to coming home. Take care everyone, will check in from China.