Tay Ho Hanoi

... the evening Tom, Steve and me grabbed some food and after I had a film session in the movie room on the 2nd floor. Good Morning Vietnam (awesomely funny, 1st time I seen it), Rocky 3 and Kill Bill where the choices for the evening. A fairly uneventful couple of days in Hanoi, its not a very interesting place, probably my least favourite in Vietnam, however I can look forward to the natural beauty of Sapa when I leave tommorow.

... They had just started out & were looking for advice, was funny cos it usually the other way around! After breakfast we collected the bags & headed for the bus station! We decided to head to Halong City on our own (you can buy tours from the hotels & travel agents in Hanoi for $45) thinking it would be cheaper! We got a 3hr public bus to Halong City! Twas some experience! it was a small minibus & they managed to fit 40 or more people on it! I was asleep ...

... We found thinks like: cheese, ham, baguette, sweets, cream, and olive oil. Even sweets brad used to have when he was a kid skiing in France.

For dinner this evening we headed out quite later, 2220 and managed to find a small stall still open serving noodle soup contain, a descent amount of meat, noodles, mushroom, green and small dumplings for 30,000 dng per person working out to be £1.00

... on the beach which was the most amazing food I've ever tasted. We had the juiciest tiger prawns which my mouth waters over just thinking about it!! Dad you would be so proud of me, I de-shelled them myself and everything, not like when I was younger and you had to do it for me!
We then took some pictures of the 'black sand' which just looked like dirty sand and departed quickly.
It was only a day trip and then we returned to Hong Kong ...

... people, they are very friendly and smile all the time. Small streets with a lots of suvernir shops,cafes and street food. A lots of motobikes, i can imaging the people must need really good skill to ride a motobike in Hanoi.

One day exerience in Hanoi:

A beautifu church from more than 100years ago
lake and temple in the central city
Hanoi, Vietnam nickietrips

Well friends after a restless night I awoke to the sounds of honking horns. Such is life in Asian countries, then I again I faintly remember those same sounds in London some years ago. I awakened at 6 am warmed water in my trusty water pot and made some tasty Nescafe instant coffee - yes I said 'tasty' and 'instant coffee' in the same sentence. I had a cup of 'ca phe sua da' (Vietnamese coffee with ice cubes and condensed milk ...

... control etc that was employed is excellent and well worth the visit. Both trips today being recomme4nded for the first time visitors.
The only thing to be aware of on the trip to thePagoda are the women who row the boats will expect a tip for their services (around 20,000dong per persom) but there was also a bit of bother with one who had also being taking photographs, She did not initially ask or tell anyone about what she wouod do ...

... Confucian scholars - it was really interesting to see how education was worshipped in such a similar fashion to other religions we have encountered - the altar and statue of Confucius looked just like a Buddha icon - perhaps appropriate since neither ever claimed to be other than human (at least Buddha didn't, i am not sure about Confucius, though i'm pretty sure he was a man!) - i think i'll have to do a 'religions we have encountered' post at some point so i'll leave it at that ...

... bugs, so it looks like i have been shot by a bb gun on the leg 50 times. It was good to meet the group and we all went for a drink to get to know each other and have a guide talking at use in some very weird english. I cant understand him and the rest cant either.

... divided into nearly 1,300 small pigeon holes, each with a small bronze statue of Buddha. New dimensions The grand scale of the pagoda is best seen at Tam The (past, present and future) Sanctum. Built on the highest hill in the region, Tam The Sanctum is the largest construction in Bai Dinh complex, and is also the biggest sanctum for worshipping Buddha in the country. The massive structure covers an area of 3.000sq.m. There are seven chambers, each dedicated to ...