Asean International Hanoi

... before we gave the bike back,(it was too difficult to drive in the crowded streets in the dark) we had the yellow stuff again for dinner, its difficult to find anything that hasn't got meat in and even if you do, getting someone to give it to you is really hard!<br> <br>thinking of going to ho long bai (sp) next. maybe, have to try and organize it tomorrow.<br><br> <br>

... back to cusco for this machu pichu ****. Bumped into fellow wreckhead number 20 on my travels and continued to drink so many Baby guinness's, the factiory in dublin near recruited us as shareholders! Went to machu Puichu...back to La PAZ!<br> <br>March...<br>Can't remember, I was in LA Paz, and I was ****ed for the whole duration! It was St. Paddy's day...Ireland won the 6 nations and my birthday in the space of 3 - 4 weeks...Also, the beer was only like a quid ...

... chance! Once that was all gone we chilled out and then headed to another local restaurant called Le Place, which was nice too.<br><br>Today has just been spent chilling out and uploading all my photos from Laos onto Facebook. Tonight I'm heading up to Sapa for a couple of days (up in the mountains on the Chinese Border). Of course I had to go back to KOTO for lunch, and am feeling suitably fed now!<br><br>Hope all is well<br><br>UTV<br><br>Bazz x

For Dinner we went to Koto - which is a restaurant which supports the youth of Vietnam, and the food here was a welcome change. <br>Yes i had a break form my stable diet of Rice and Noodles and had bangers and mash - Vietnam style. This was amazing and the food did not touch the sides. The four lads in the group (Me, Jorge, Jasper and John - all went for the same - so it would seem this food was universally appreciated across the nations.

... lightning inside them combined to create one of the most unique evenings i've ever had. Definitely a place to return to.<br><br>The journey back the next day was long and slightly sad as most of us would have loved to spend more time there but China beckoned to us and Sapa beckoned to many of our friends so after a great dinner at al fresco's in Hanoi (amazing giant ribs!) we exchanged email addresses and parted ways to prepare for our respective journeys.

... the water puppet show! This is apparently the must do event. Water puppetry is a Vietnamese art form developed over 1000 years ago by rice farmers, and the most famous water puppetry troupe resides in Hanoi. The show was charming and included a live orchestra playing Vietnamese folk music. While we enjoyed the show, our sweat was drying on us at this point and we were ready to head home as son as it ended after a very full first day of tourism. <br ...

... diesel fumes my lungs were ingesting than the chaotic streets. Though there are street lights and signs directing traffic, drivers don't seem to notice them. Amazingly, traffic flows - motorbikes swarm together like schools of fish, perhaps to give the impression that they're bigger than the cars and trucks on the road alongside them. Even more impressive, there aren't any accidents! I made it to my destinations with all limbs in tact!<br><br ...

... than expected, and not knowing if we were going to make it in time, we hopped in a cab only to find out that we were about 2 minutes away anyway. The mausoleum is in a dedicated complex, with a museum, and the house/palace where he lived for a bit. He's absolutely worshipped over here and seen very much as the great liberator of the Vietnamese people. In fact, most of the people there, and there were a lot, were Vietnamese. Quite a holy place in a way ...

... twice a day and only eats food that is very fresh. Ling explained that there are several types of markets. The large markets like Dong Xuan in Hanoi and Ben Tranh in HCMC are government owned - useful when throwing a party, you can get everything you need there (like Walmart). The smaller markets are owned by municipalities. There are also farmers markets and street sellers that are illegal and often change locations. These are good for your everyday shopping ...

... was pretty quiet and decent looking. We were disappointed to find out that the food was not as good as we had imagined and the price charged was also too expensive. Out of so many restaurants along the way, we had to pick a lousy one....so sat pai! DAY 7 DEC 23 HOIAN - DANANG - HANOI Breakfast today was the best so far since we have arrived in Vietnam!! Thumbs up for this Hotel. After breakfast we set off for the Ancient Town of Hoian ...