Somerset West Lake Apartment Hanoi

... the place to produce mandarins and the Temple was dedicated to Confucius and thus a spritual centre. In the complex are gates through which people and everyone is required to dismount from their horses so as to be at the same level even if you were the son of the Emperor. Around one of the courtyard were statues of hugh tortorises ( for strength and longevity) on whose backs were flat stones with ...

... metal boxes to large wire shelving units, you need to watch out on this one for the sparks flying around as they’re putting the things together. Mirror street sells... I think you get the gist. One thing that has really struck me about this place is you don’t actually have to go out with a plan of what to do. You just wander the streets savouring the assault on your eyes and ears until you can take no more. Then cool off with a Bia Hoi!

... it's not a<br>little toot like in Bali &#8211; it's a full fledged GET OUT OF MY WAY<br>honk. Nobody seems to mind except maybe Westerners, but we've kind<br>of gotten used to it &#8211; it's more like background noise now. There<br>is a hierarchy of honks. Trucks, city buses, SUVs and taxis (in that<br>order) are the loudest and most annoying of the honkers. These<br>drivers also seem not to care about pedestrians or possibly running<br>over anyone else. They figure &#8220 ...

... ils suivre une ligne droite sur le trottoir lorsque les 2 roues s'amusent a jouer des spaghettis sur la voie? Autant soumettre le pieton a quelques etapes labyrinthiques aussi!...Un scooter en tenue rose bonbon le long du caniveau. Un autre charge de plaques d'oeufs et aux poignees craquelees dans l'autre sens et pourquoi ne pas y ajouter dans l'interstice, en biais, un autre en tenue 'fashion', avec une selle Louis Vuitton?<br><br>Mais le pieton pourrait peut-etre encore trouver ...

alright dudes!!!! and dudets!!!<br><br>Been in nam (cool people call it that!!) for like two weeks which has been fun in parts but also highly frustrating!!<br><br><br>Anyway left ho chi minh and went to Dalat on bus and meet an irish chick who i ended up staying with for few days in dalat which was good as split costs, but did get annoying as dude at hotel kept thinking we were couple!!! Rented motorbikes and drove ...

... experiences in Viietnam thus far.<br><br><br>Hanoi.<br><br>Walking around Hanoi, you bake in a wet oven. Basically, you're getting steamed. This is probably the hottest place I've ever been in, even warmer than the Philippines. This makes me wonder why Americans ever wanted to fight a war here.<br><br>My first impression of the city is that it is simply noisy, confusing, and chaotic. Most visitors end up in the French Old Quarter of the city, where the ...

... and graceful, the performace was also properly laugh-out-loud funny in some parts. Although, whethere this was more because of the childlike medium than the actual material (and therefore it appeals to a more childlike side of you) I don't know. There's also the odd message in there kids, a fisherman drowns after taking on a fish twice the size of his boat - the message, don't play in the water after taking a massive toke on a bong. Simple really!

... you to the wrong place for a commission). We were relieved to know we wouldn't have to deal with that. Then our hotel pick-up driver dropped us off at Tam Thong Guesthouse - ahh so easy. But wait, our reservation was with Holiday Guesthouse. "Ah, wres, we buy hotel from next door", explained the desk clerk. We didn't even try to explain the ethical issues involved with taking reservations for the wrong hotel, mainly because we were trying to argue ...

... Bay and went for a ride out on one of the 'junk boats'. It would've been nice to spend a couple of days out there but it all came down to time. Back in Hanoi we saw a water puppet show and went for a walk around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. That was a weird experience in itself, lining up with hundreds of others just to walk around a dead guy. There was so much security too, I couldn't understand why...I mean he's dead so not much more can happen ...

... and watch the sunset for a few hours before our group returns to pick up the luggage and a slightly sunburned me for the remainder of our trip. It's perfect winter weather, clear skies without scorching summer heat, and while I'm swimming it's a perfect moment, like Spalding Gray's Perfect Moment: ("Suddenly, there was no time and there was no fear and there was no body. There were no longer any outlines. It was just one big ocean. My body had blended with ...