Blogs from Northeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 23

c Hey Everyone, Just a quick update to tell you about our Halong Bay trip and Hue. We arrived into Hanoi on the 8th late, we met up with and did some touring around with April and Kyle on the 9th. We visited Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum which was kind of a bizarre experience. His body was interred in a glass case in the middle of a large stone building. There were guards everyone and you were not allowed to speak. I didn’t do much else that day because I felt ill and because Hanoi is insane! The traffic is just unreal. I can’t even begin to explain it to you. Just picture super narrow streets, sidewalks covered in motorbikes so you have to walk on the street, thousands of questionable motorbike drivers, the occasional car, ... read more

10th Feb ’12 Hanoi to Ha Long Bay We set off from Hanoi on a grey, damp and gloomy morning on a minibus to Ha Long Bay. It took about 4 hours to get to there with a stop half way for the loo and tea – well actually it was at a centre for people with disabilities who make a wide range of crafts and flogged them to tourists wanting to use the facilities. We got off at the port which was set in a new development of apartments, a kind of theme park and a dolphin show arena. We skated across the rain slicked floor and out to the water side, where we boarded a smallish boat to take us out to The Opera Cruise boat (our upgraded treat!). We soon left the harbour ... read more

Den 2. januar landede vi i Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Vi havde som sædvanlig ingen reservationer og skulle derfor finde et hotel i byen. Vi havde dog hørt at Vietnam, var lidt værre end Thailand, når det gjaldt prisstigning for turister. Og ganske rigtig, den første individuelle taxachauffør vi spurgte, ville have en vanvittig pris for at køre ind til byen. Så vi gik ind i lufthavnen og snakkede med hvad der lignede et professionelt turistselskab. Her fik vi så også en taxa og første nat på et meget lækkert hotel for samme pris, som den anden taxa ville have. Vi ankom til vores Hotel om eftermiddagen og så ikke meget af Ho Chi Minh den dag. Næste dag gik vi dog rundt i byen og det første vi blev overraskede over, var trafiksystemet. Der ... read more

Arriving by bus and getting into a hotel was easy enough. Walking around the old quarter theer are literally tuns of hotels all wanting your to money! We found a nice one for 12 dolla called Hanoi Municipal Hotel which had very clean rooms with tv, fridge and a helpful reception desk/ tourist information centre/booking office!!!!!! We were totally shattered and thought it best to quickly go out and get some street food from the many places that are on every corner – we had a nice soup – and then an early night! Walking around in the morning re realised how manic this city really is! There are bikes and cars crowding every street and its amazing how there are not more accidents – there are a lot but there should be more!!! Every available ... read more

Sunday 1 January 2012 - I rented a car with a driver and traveled 70km to Thổ Hà village in Bắc Giang province. This is one of the poor provinces in northern Vietnam. Thổ Hà village used to be famous for the ceramic products, along with Bát Tràng and Phù Lãng ceramic villages. The ceramic works in Thổ Hà village lasted 8 centuries, from the 12th to 20th centuries. Since 1980 to date, the traditional work no longer existed and the locals changed to make rice papers and noodles, as well as raising pigs and making rice wine. The village is an interesting place for tourists and photographers owing to a number of the old houses and its location by the Cầu river. There is no rice field in the village and it's like an isolated ... read more