http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/theRedRiver/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from theRedRiver en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:39:44 +0000 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:39:44 +0000 Saturday 21 November 2009 Some friends visited Hanoi so we rented a taxi and traveled 40km to two villages in Thanh Oai commune. The first village we visited is the Vc village where the locals make bird cages and paper fans. We visited 3 houses and saw the locals drying fans in the sun or making bird cages of different shapes. The next village is more interesting. Our taxi went along the Nhu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-455179.html This is my 100th blog and the message I would like to share is When we are young let's have our own dreams and make them come true. This blog is about the young Vietnamese in the traitimvietnamonline travel forum traitim means heart who have traveled throughout Vietnam by motorbike and were back home with their wonderful photos. They may be students or anyone who have a passion for trave http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-449397.html Sunday 1 November 2009 I traveled with my colleagues to the Thnh Ch432417ng's Viet Palace which is located 35km from Hanoi's center. Mr. Thnh Ch432417ng was born in 1949 in a northern province. As a famous artist in Vietnam he has earned millions USD from selling his paintings and also collected antiques for years. He bought 10000m2 of land in Sc S417n district flattened a h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-450068.html There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam of which the Viet or Kinh is the largest group making up 86.2 of the country's population. The Viet people mainly live in the Red River Delta the central coast region the Mekong Delta and major cities. The other 53 ethnic minority groups are scattered over mountainous areas or plains spreading from the North to the South.My photos in this blog were mai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-448833.html In May 2007 during my transit time from Brunei to Hanoi I had to stay for a night in Kuala Lumpur. While I was walking down a street in Bukit Bingtang to find a hotel or guest house I passed by a Vietnamese restaurant in the area. It was easily recognized since the Vietnamese propaganda were hung up for decorating both outside and inside the restaurant. I went into the restaurant and asked a boy http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-446852.html A trip may be ruined or not it depends much on how we deal with the people we meet. While I don't deny that I too was hassled by persistent touts and beggars or overcharged by hotels travel agents and local drivers and hurt by some westerners who judged me based on my nationality and said rude words to me I still can say that 90 of the people I've met when traveling are great ones. Everyone http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-444868.html So I have survived the hottest summer with pimples all over my face. Now autumn is the favorite season for me and all Hanoians. From September to December the weather here is very pleasant sun shines during the day and it's cool at night. Due to the El Nino it's warmer this year. Some days the temperature in Hanoi reaches 32C while often it's only 1625C. Autumn also is an aspiration for man http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-443130.html 26 September 2009 After traveling for 2 hours by plane from Hanoi to C7847n Th417 4 hours by bus from C7847n Th417 Sc Tr259ng B7841c Liu C Mau and then 2 hours by water taxi to the southern tip finally I stepped onto the C Mau cape M361i C Mau which is the southernmost point of Vietnam. This is one of my dreams that came true. As some of you have not been to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Ca-Mau/blog-442202.html 26 and 27 September 2009 We spent a night in B7841c Liu town after visiting the southernmost point of Vietnam. In this blog I don't have beautiful photos of landscape or temples. I will write about two men in B7841c Liu province who were very famous during the first half of the 20th century. What I write here is more familiar to Vietnamese so I will try to explain what I know with my http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Bac-Lieu/blog-441393.html 25 and 27 September 2009 We left C7847n Th417 and went south to C Mau which is the southernmost province of Vietnam. On the way we stopped in Sc Tr259ng and B7841c Liu provinces for visiting some sites. There are 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta and its population is 17 million people of which Khmer people make up 25 Chinese 30 and the remaining are Vietnamese according to ou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Soc-Trang/blog-440957.html 24 27 and 28 September 2009 I was back in C7847n Th417 city which is the biggest city in the Mekong Delta and it was my 3rd visit to this city. On this trip I would go further south through 4 provinces and reach the southernmost point of Vietnam. I decided to book a 5day tour with a travel agent in Hanoi Vietran Company and the tour cost VND 3.9 million US200. If I traveled on my http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Can-Tho/blog-440653.html My mother often tells me Nobody asks you how many countries you've been to they ask you how many children you have. In my parents' and grandparents' generations they experienced the French and American wars. Life was very hard at that time and they were happy with having many children in their cases 3 to 5 children. My grandmother is nearly 90 years old and she has never been abroad in her e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-436370.html Sunday 6 September 2009 After an 8 and a half hour train ride from Hanoi I arrived in Lo Cai. This city is very close to China only 1km from the Lo Cai Hekou international border crossing also on the way to Yunnan province of China. If you look at a map Sapa is on the left side 38km from Lo Cai and B7855c H is on the right side 70km from Lo Cai. Both Sapa and B7855c H are po http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Bac-Ha/blog-434460.html 2724327901ng Lm 53km away from Hanoi's center is the first ancient village in Vietnam which was recognized as a national heritage site in May 2006. There are over 300 old houses at the 9 villages in 2724327901ng Lm commune and they were built 300 400 years ago. The old houses are of wooden type while other houses at 2724327901ng Lm have the walls of lateritic br http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-432546.html Where did you learn English Many people asked me this question. Actually English was my 3rd foreign language and I learned it at the evening classes in Hanoi. While English was not my official foreign language that I learned at school and college it's now my major foreign language at work and I can travel extensively with the ability to speak it. If I could turn back the hand of time I would http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-430657.html It has been 12 years since my first trip as a solo traveler in Vietnam but the same questions like Why do you go alone Don't you feel boredsadlonely that I was asked all the time have not changed at all. I realize that there are still very few solo Vietnamese travelers and people still have not changed their minds yet about going somewhere without a companion. For most Vietnamese when you http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-425734.html My summer this year is pretty quiet. We experienced the hottest June ever recorded. Some days in Hanoi the outdoor temperature reached 4546C with very high humidity often it's 3038C during the summer time. Then it rained almost every week in July and August. I didn't dare to go anywhere close to the mountains as I was concerned about the risk of floods and landslides. Also the pig flu AH1 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-424913.html This is an interesting article published in the Lao 2727897ng Labor newspaper a few years ago. It was about Vietnamese views on the Western backpackers travelling in Vietnam. When I posted this article in the Thorn Tree travel forum of Lonely Planet website Ralph who is an Australian member in the forum translated it into English. My photos in this blog were taken in the Old Quarter of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-417015.html 272i7879n Bin Ph7911 is a remote city inside the M4327901ng Thanh valley in the north west of Vietnam only 36.5km from the Lao border. The ethnic minority people living in this area are the Thai and H'mong. The city is famous for the site of the battle where the French troops were defeated by Vi7879t Minh the League for the Independence of Vietnam Vi7879t Nam 273789 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Dien-Bien-Phu/blog-408977.html Bhaktapur also known as the City of Devotees was the capital of Kathmandu valley during the 14th to 16th centuries. It's located about 35km east of Kathmandu. The city is filled with palaces temples statues and squares connected by a maze of largely pedestrianonly streets. This is one of the must sees in Nepal. At present this city is a UNESCO world heritage site.Tuesday 28 April 2009 Car http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Bhaktapur/blog-397016.html