Hidden Hanoi

... teach us how to prepare and cook traditional dishes such as spring rolls, chicken and catfish. You can find Pho everywhere in Vietnam and our hotel offered it for breakfast. It's a sort of noodle soup with chicken or beef served with onions and chilli.& ...

... manipulate painted wooden puppets over a pool of water--the stage. Immediately, the choice of water made sense: Northern Vietnam's people are intricately connected with water, whether through growing rice in paddies, fishing, boating, or raising ducks. ...

... in 1904 by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners. American POW's were imprisoned here during the Vietnam War and nicknamed it the 'Hanoi Hilton.' One of the young pilots shot down was John McCain (US Senator). Display cases show ...

... climate, that's going a bit too far for me! I guess they don't believe in a healthy glow.) - eating by the side of the road (literally) on low furniture fit for a 5-year old Vietnam is definitely on our list of places we'd like to revisit one day!

... ; We've heard a lot of negative reports from travellers about Hanoi.  True, its hard to like on the surface.  Vietnam, like many other Asian countries, is almost drowning in motorbikes.  Hanoi has almost 3 million of them.  There are ...

... as she ripped her clothes off to stop the burning of her skin, it's a powerful depiction of the controlling forces in Vietnam. It's powerful stuff). When leaving the museum a Vietnamese guy asked martin if he was American "No, No oh no defiantly not". ...

... airport baggage claim area, but sadly this was what we had to do. Because of our time-scale, we caught a flight from HCMC upto Hanoi, Vietnam's second biggest city. It was on this flight Jo and I sat next to a really nice man flying home. Like most ...

... both hands and jump of the nearest cliff! In other words we wanted to do our own thing, get away from the confines associated with tourist organisations and get out there and see the real Vietnam for ourselves (read on to find out what happened next).

... . Which is often. Yesterday we followed the Lonely Planet walking tour - so great - and it lead us to see many hidden surprises, like this small house which was a public temple instead of a sitting room. And the Vietnamese present their Gods with beer ...

... temples. At its centre is the Forbidden Purple city where the Emperor, his queen, immediate family and his concubine lived. Vietnam has a very rich and old history - unlike Canada - a very young country. In total, Vietnam had 13 Nygyen Emperors. ...

... is sold on the street where you crouch on a stool avoiding all the obstacles at just 5p a glass. Watched a 'Water Puppet' show in a theatre with massive puppets operated in water by hidden people wading in water up to their thighs. Excellent! Emma

... to be educated. Its been maintained, added to and embellished over the centuries and is still one of Hanoi and Vietnam's most loved places. Beautiful gardens and courtyards; graceful buildings; elegant and richly finished interiors; lovely detailing - ...

... shaped paddleboats dotting the sunset-gleaming water. we also visited the Temple of Literature, one of the oldest universities in Vietnam - it was started in the 11th century to educate Confucian scholars - it was really interesting to see how education ...

... in a car (only very wealthy Vietnamese own cars) by 2 women dressed in nice business attire. They took us to Trung Nguyen, Vietnam's equivalent of Starbucks, to discuss what we'd be doing. The whole thing sounded a little too shady to be true, I mean, $ ...

... go see a b-53 bomber that had crashed into a nearby lake. This was not on our map but we ahd a rough idea where this hidden lake was.....took us 3 hours to find it! But it was a brill 3 hours....we walked all around the neighborhood, down alleyways, spoke ...

... beer) are 10 times as much as anywhere else in the city. Saw a really cool water puppet show where 10 hidden puppeteers manoeuvre wooden puppets (involved in an elaborate story) through waist-deep water amidst traditional Vietnamese music, singing and ...

... . It's pretty hard to explain, but essentially wooden puppets are manoeuvred in a large tank of water (the puppet masters are hidden) and they appear to be moving in/on the water. See the pictures which probably don't do it justice but hopefully give you ...

... ; Today I am planning on walking around the city some more, and possibly taking a night train back to Hanoi, where I can start working my way down to south Vietnam.     All in all, Sapa is a great place to visit.  The weather, ...

... than dangling from strings, are maneuvered by poles from below, which stretch under the water to the puppet-masters who are hidden behind a screen.  The plot told a story of local lore along with age-old customs of rural lifestyle.  It felt ...

... site. This World Heritage site was breathtaking. With over 3000 islands, moonscape caves, and hidden lagoons only accessible by kayak, Ha Long does not dissapoint. All in all, Vietnam is definately a "hidden dream" and one we would recommend to anyone.