Blogs from Hanoi, Red River Delta, Vietnam, Asia
May 24th 2012
We left Hoi An and headed to Hue, it was very hot there (nearly unbearable). Hue is home to the perfume river so we took a tour along the river and visited some royal tombs and temples. We also met a couple of people that we met at the tunnels on the tour so we hung out with them at the Why not bar in the evening. There are so many Why not bars/hotels etc, i think i may have to get the tshirt if i can actually find one. We then travelled on the over night bus to Hanoi (capital). We spoke to a couple of children at the bus stop along the way. I think they were practising their english. They spoke english very well. They asked what languages i spoke and I had ... read more
May 20th 2012
Weer terug gekomen uit Halong Bay. 's Avonds nog even rondje gelopen want kim wilde graag nog een verjaardag cadeau kopen. Dus rondje night market gedaan. Shoppen kan je hier erg goed! De omgeving van Vietnam schijnt erg mooi te zijn, dus had ik bedacht om een motor te kopen in Hanoi om vervolgens daarmee heel Vietnam rond te rijden en de bike weer te verkopen in Ho Chi Minh City. 21-05-2012 Vandaag was het zover, ik heb een jongen van het guesthouse betaald om met mij mee te nemen naar de motormarkt, omdat er maar weinig mensen engels praten op de lokale markt. Dus erg handig om iemand mee te nemen die mij er heen brengt en Vietnamees praat! Na een aantal motoren te hebben gezien viel mijn oog op een Honda win 100cc. Na ... read more
Backpackertour vs. independent adventure?
Published: May 17th 2012Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi
May 17th 2012
So tonight is my last night in my 'transition' hotel which I booked in advance to ease myself in to the crazyness that is Vietnam. Tomorrow I'm out on my ear and the only plan is to get myself over to Halong Bay...I have two options... 1.) Taxi to Gia Lam Bus Station to get myself a bus over to Halong City for a night in a hostel and then get myself on a Halong Bay tour the following day. Or.. 2.) Get myself booked in to a hostel in the old quarter and then arrange a 1,000,100d tour for the following day from a travel company based in the OQ of Hanoi. The tour I've enquired about is a two day trip with one night on either a junk boat or onshore hotel. My current ... read more
May 16th 2012
My second day in Hanoi, Vietnam has been been brilliant. 0730: Tried to have a relative lie-in today (but this was quickly made impossible due to the roaring sound of Hanoi traffic) so a quick bannana pancake and a couple of cups of coffee and I'm good to go! 0815: Off to Hoan Kiem Lake in the old quarter, beautiful green lake that stands as the heart of Hanoi. The surrounding benches and grasses are already teaming with locals utilising the all important shade. I was approached by several hawkers and after some friendly conversation with a 27 year old Vietnamese lady I decided to purchase a Lonely Planet Vietnamese phrase book (for a very reasonable haggled price :) 0845: On to the temple in the middle of the Hoan Kiem lake 20,000d admission and a ... read more
May 16th 2012
Vlucht van Luang Prabang (Laos) naar Hanoi (Vietnam). Yesss wat was ik blij dat het maar een uurtje vliegen was in plaats van een bustocht van 32 uur!! Samen met Kim (Nederlandse Meid) gevlogen. Kenden elkaar al van Laos dus weer een gezellig nieuw reismaatje. Vlucht was super kregen zelf drinken en eten! Wat een luxe. Toen een uurtje in de bus en we waren in Hanoi! Wat een gave stad, overal brommers, mensen, een gezellige drukte. We verbleven in het "old quarter" gedeelte. s' Avonds de buurt verkend en op straat een biertje gedronken voor 20 euro cent per glas! Dat zijn de betere prijzen en nog lekker bier ook! De volgende dag er weer vroeg uit om de Hanoi Walking Tour te lopen zoals die in de lonely planet staat. Veel gezien die dag ... read more
May 14th 2012
I arrived in Hanoi after suffering a horrendous night at Bangkok airport due to sun stroke. I don't think I have ever been so ill..imagine the worst migraine ever, as well as constant nausea! But I won't go in to too much detail on that.. Luckily by the time I arrived in Hanoi I felt much better and my lovely friend Steph (that I met in San Diego years ago) met me at the airport. Despite being exhausted we had a fun packed day seeing the sights of Hanoi! She took me down to the lake, to the opera house and to Hanoi prison. Though I have to say the highlight of the day had to be the chocolate buffet! She obviously knows how to keep me happy and took me to the extremely posh Metropole ... read more
May 1st 2012
We've been in Vietnam for 5 days now - a couple of days in Hanoi and a side trip south to Cuc Phuong National Park and Ninh Binh. Hanoi is a great city - busy, noisy with lots of tooting motorbikes. Our highlights of Hanoi so far have been: Enjoying sampling the local street food in the Old Quarter. My favourite is the pate rolls and Tom is a sucker for anything sweet. He got caught out tonight though mistaking what he thought was a sweet rice pudding for a salty pork congee. The Women's Museum. It was really interesting hearing about the women of Vietnam, how hard they work to earn extra money so their kids can go to school and how highly regarded they are in society. Spending an evening drinking 25c beers at ... read more
May 1st 2012
We come to the end of things, here in the capitol of Vietnam, Hanoi. In Saigon I confronted a new pace to life, frantic and rushed. Da Lat and Sapa were both quiet, their distances from the great cities freeing them from a press of too many people and Hoi An was like being transported back into a slightly twisted European culture. Now I find the capitol to be something all of its own as well. There is the ever-present division of wealth, with shacks hugging to the river and skyscrapers rising up behind them and the traffic is worse with more motorcycles zooming by than you have time to count. Highways here have ramps, the only time I've ever seen a road in Vietnam rise above the ground and from the back of a motorcycle ... read more
April 15th 2012
The next day Gina and I make the trek by foot out of the Old Quarter, west to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace. If you’ve ever done this walk you’ll know that you pass by some of serious Government ministry buildings guarded by earnest young soldiers sporting arms. They look serious but as you approach them for directions, they grin and point a way down the road. Occasionally I get a salute. We are about half an hour late for the mausoleum – I say we are late because it is 30 minutes after opening time and the queue stretched for hundreds of metres. It takes a fair bit of time to get into the compound – all in single file after being searched a number of times and all ... read more
