Our goddaughter Jonna and her husband Antti visited us in Ha Noi for nine days
in November 2000. Jonna and Antti have been taking care of our cats and our
home in Lappeenranta the entire time we have been here, so it was really nice of them to see how we are doing here
just before we move back.
They flew to Hanoi with Air France via Paris and Bangkok and had minimized the time they spent on the trip,
so that they could get the most out of their money when they arrived. They arrived on Monday, November 13th, around
five in the evening.
The travelers were met at the airport and then we went to see the hotel, which was located in the old quarters of Ha Noi . The hotel was modestly called Hotel Asia and it had been recommended by Maija Romo from Lahti . The hotel looked clean and had all the necessary equipment, including a television and there were thousands of shops (you don't have to buy everything, after all) all around.
Immediately after that, we decided to go out for dinner and we had chosen Il Grillo on Ba Triu street as our first restaurant, where we chose at least Lasagna and delicious garlic-tomato bread. In addition, Antti and Jonna got to feel like real millionaires for the first time in their lives, even though they were dong millionaires (1 FIM = 2,000 VND).
The following days were spent exploring all sorts of places in Hanoi, although admittedly Jari's constant work hindered the program planning. The following links always have a report of events in one travel destination and pages will be added as they are completed: