Pacific Star Hotel Hanoi

... the water to be any cheaper and it wasn't! It's harder than you think being teetotal! Afterwards we went to a more trendy pub called Mao's red lounge but at 2am i decided to call it a day (or night) and went back to the Hotel. Luckily i had a map but what followed was something out of a horror film! We all left the pub (well the police kicked us out) and that's where Rumit and Minal continued the drinking escapades.

I decided to walk back and after about 1 minute i had left ...

... of them in the area.

We were put onot a flatbottomed boat with a sort of lounge on the bottom deck and we made our way slowly toward the islands. The boat trip took us round some of these. The weather was perfect and the sea the colour of jade. Then we came to some floating huts and tied up alongside. On the upper deck soe of u too photos of the scenery and lazed in the sun. Then it was ...

... suitable for climbers who consider it to be their passion. Hoang Lien Mountain Range is also called the Alps of the North Sea area since Fansipan Mountain is not only the highest peak in Vietnam, but also in the Indochina Peninsula. The pyramid-shaped mountain is covered with cloud all year round and temperature often drops below zero.
Driving on the way to Lao Cai, turning left from the main road, Ta Phin village appears right in front of your eyes after taking a small path to ...

... by the Vietnamese that I was supposed to join them both - with my luggage. With wide eyes and raised brows I shrugged my shoulders and put on the pink helmet the driver offered me. Maria snapped in and out of my mind at the thought of the pink helmet.

I asked Quang to ask the driver how much the ride would be (since my Vietnamese is a little out of practice to date). Twenty thousand dong he said but his sister jumped in and said something in ...

... br> 'Mr Miyagi' 'Uncle 'Ho'

I stumbled from embalmed tortoises to embalmed former leaders of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Situated in Ba Dinh Square where Uncle Ho declared the nation fully independent from foreign rule in 1942 the grandly designed Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum sits. This has to be one of the busiest places I visited while in ...

"Cốm" (green sticky rice) is a delicacy that is made only in autumn and
cherished by all Vietnamese. For Hanoians, nothing evokes autumn like
the taste of young rice from Vong village, the grain so sweetly scented
that they left a lasting impression...







Served with red persimmons or ripe bananas, "Cốm" is truly delicious.
Vong village, on the outskirts of Hanoi, is said to produce the best
Hanoi, Vietnam michaeltonny

... centre of the lake. There was so much to see here I could not put my camera away for fear of missing a great photo opportunity around the next corner!

We stayed at a lovely hotel in the centre of the Old Quarter for only US$25 per night (inc. breakfast and free internet), which was beautiful decorated with a colonial feel and a high ceiling and spacious balcony. I would say Vietnam is the best place for great value ...

... of "our" tailor were so welcoming, “Mama” was cooking for us and “Papa” was introducing us to his well stocked liquor arsenal (here, my friend, drink this, better than Viagra to make the lady happy) while the daughter of the house was supervising the people that were actually making our clothes. After several re-fittings I am now the happy owner of two custom made silk dresses and Christoph has a neat suit with I don't know how many shirts! Big success Hoi ...

... a bowl of pho (seriously, 2 inches from the ground), to smoke home-rolled cigs, to smoke large bamboo pipes containing what is most likely opium, and sometimes simply to rest their tired little feet and get out of the sun. Wouldn't we all love to perform something such as this? What's really ingenious about the Viet squatters I've seen is that, inevitably, when their legs get tired of squatting (because you can't squat forever, it actually does take some muscle ...

Not much to say today. Lots of hang overs, but I feel great because I got to bed early. The Englishmen however, they did not feel so hot. We had a long ride back to Hanoi, where we cleaned up a little and grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out to the train station with a third party (Trey, Seans friend from UT) to head ...