Wednesday, 25 June 2008, I spent the day and night traveling from Hanoi to Sukhothai by plane, bus and motorbike. Let me list what means of transport I traveled by: 2 buses from my house to Nội Bài international airport => 2 hour flight from Hanoi to Bangkok => shuttle bus from Suvarnahbumi international airport to the bus terminal => van from the bus terminal to a bus stop near Morchit bus station => motorbike (without helmet) from the bus stop through a village to Morchit bus station => waiting 4 hours at the North/Northeast Bus Terminal => 7 hour night bus from Bangkok to Sukhothai => Samradeng (3-wheel motorbike) to the Garden House in Sukhothai. I left Hanoi at 10am and when I got my room in Sukhothai, it was 5am next day. It took ... read more

Sunday 15 June 2008, I woke up at 5am and rode my motorbike to the West Lake. Around that area, there are many flower villages. I went to one of them which is located near the West Lake Water Park, in order to take photos of a lotus lake and some activities that only take place in the early hours of the morning. The lotus season in Hanoi starts from June and lasts 3 months. Every morning from 5am to 7am, the local residents, who own the lotus lakes, tour around the lakes on very small boats (in Vietnamese, we call them “thuyền thúng”) and pick both flowers and leaves, following the orders from their clients who are waiting on the bank. This is a wholesale business. Any business people, who want to buy lotus flowers ... read more

Here I am again at the Jing Xiu Shan park (công viên Thanh Tú Sơn) in Nanning, China. On my first visit to Nanning 8 years ago (in April 2000), I also spent a morning visiting the park and liked the place so much that this time when I returned to Nanning, I asked the Chinese tourist guide to organize a trip for us to the park. Some people on the tour had not been there yet. I told them it was a great place to visit. Each of us paid 60 Yuan to the Chinese tourist guide and driver. They took us to the park and we spent 2 hours over there before leaving Nanning for Pingxiang. A new place I saw this time is Guan Yin pagoda. The other sites I’ve seen before, for ... read more

I’m just back in Hanoi after traveling 1,800 km by bus between Hanoi and Guilin. On the way to Guilin, I had to stay for a couple of nights in Nanning. I traveled to Nanning for the first time in April 2000, ie 8 years ago. Nanning is the capital city of Guangxi province. The majority of ethnic people in this province are the Zhuang people (Khu tự trị dân tộc Choang, tỉnh Quảng Tây). As Guangxi and Yunnan provinces are bordering with Vietnam and I traveled on a tour, I didn’t use my passport and apply for a Chinese visa. The travel company arranged an “Entry and Exit Permit” (Giấy thông hành) for us, using our ID cards. In case I want to head further north, I would need a Chinese visa. On 30 April, ... read more

Sapa market is located right at the center of the city, just a short walk to the old church, which was built by the French in the last century. There are many things that are sold inside the market and at the surrounding area of the market. At night, many ethnic minority people also sell their products on the pavement along the streets in Sapa's center. The photos in this blog were taken at Sapa market on 19 and 20 April 2008. The products for sale are local specialties, mainly medicinal herbs, weaving and hand embroidery bags, pillow sheets, wooden paintings, dolls wearing traditional dress, local wine, and musical instruments of the ethnic minority people etc. The locals in these photos are the Red Dzao and H'mong ethnic minority people. Another market of the H'mong people ... read more