The rest.... just randomly.

The rest.... just randomly.

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

OK, so this is going to be my last post on Vietnam (finally), just with some random shots. The section of the costume for various Vietnamese tribes at the Vietnam Fine Art Museum was VERY interesting. Coffee and baguette were really good, I love their coffee with sweet condensed milk at the bottom. I'm trying to have my coffee in Vietnamese way at home now. It's really good if you like to have your coffee sweet and with milk you should try it ;) If you are going to Hanoi, Cafe MAI is the best!

So Vietnam, I think I'm going to have to see you again! You make me intrigued more so after I left!

Comments: 11

Hanoi in Lights

Hanoi in Lights

Saturday, 19 September 2009

When the night falls the city shows a totally different appearance. It was really pretty around the lake (though my photos didn't come out so nicely), and there were so many people around enjoying their night walks in their pyjamas(!) all relaxed and looking happy. The trafic gets even more crazy at night and it was totally amazing I wondered where they come from and where they are headed. But actually this fabulous photo of Shibuya crossing at night by Stephanie reminded me how I'm so used to it and that I don't even think it's that crazy but actually it can be EVEN MORE crazy than Hanoi's craziness at night! I really thought about it when I was crossing right there in Shibuya tonight, it's kind of scary!!!!

Anyway, after passing all the crazy crossings in Hanoi and when we returned to our hotel there we saw a beautiful full moon. Yes it was perfect.

Comments: 9

Delicious Vietnam #02

Delicious Vietnam #02

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Vietnam never let me down when it comes to eating. The food is wonderful and the Vietnamese people seem to have such great passion for eating and I really enjoyed that. The only thing is that at most places the beer is served warm and you have to drink it with ice. If I could've had the really chilled YEBISU there it would've been more than perfect.

The pho noodles we were having there every morning, I can't stop thinking about them. I had been having them in Tokyo but they were totally different! My friend just told me that there will be Vietnam Festival (!) in Yoyogi this weekend so I hope I can find the good pho noodle there.

Quan com NHA HEN - Binh Dan local diner.
11B Nguyen Bing Khiem Q.Hai Ba Trung

Pho Suong - number 1 beef pho noodle place in town.
24 Ngo Trung Yen, Q.Hoan Kiem

Pho Thin - great pho with fried spring onion on top!
12 Lo Duc, Q.Hai Ba Trung

Comments: 13

Tranquility did exist in Hanoi

Tranquility did exist in Hanoi

Monday, 14 September 2009

The trafic noise of Hanoi never seemed to stop, it was driving me crazy. But once we stepped inside the site of St Joseph Cathedral it was as if I swam into the water. We were still outside the building but all the noise was shut out and I finally found peace and quiet. I thought I'd feel at ease but the funny thing was, I kind of felt unconfortable. It was not Hanoi, it was not Vietnam, it was just another piece of history that was left there. When we left the church and went back to the crazy noise again, I felt yea this is Hanoi and that is where I came to.

P.S. I've added 7 more backnumbers of Lingkaran magazines in my shop here!

Comments: 5

cute colours of vietnam

cute colours of vietnam

Saturday, 12 September 2009

Hanoi, surely is a colourful city! Sometimes pretty, sometimes kitsch and sometimes chic.

Comments: 17

Delicious Vietnam #01

Delicious Vietnam #01

Friday, 11 September 2009

Vietnam was really delicious, we enjoyed their beautiful food. Eating in Vietnam can be a little uneasy because in many places they don't speak a word of English and most places are quite dirty. The ones that have English or Japanese menus would be much cleaner though. We went to an expensive restaurant (i say expensive but it was less than $20 for two) in a beautiful old French villa on the first night, everyone spoke English and great service, but no locals would go there to eat, only westerners and Japanese tourists. The food was good, but I much prefered places where locals go to even though they are less hygenic. They are more real. But you really need to be brave to get the best out of it! (these places you see in above photos were a lot cleaner than other places we went in Hanoi.)

Quán Cơm Phố : 29 Le Van Huu St. Hai Ba Trung Dist.
Great restaurant full of local young people. Oh and there was a guy who was fluent in English. Less than $10 for two people.

Cafe29 : 29 Hàng Hành St. Hoan Kiem Dist.
Their chiken sticky rice was devine!! No English spoken but you just say "xoi ga" (chiken sticky rice) and you'll be fine. Less than $1 for one dish!

and I'm just adding this;
Au Lac House : 13 Pho Tran Hung Dao
Restaurant in a beautiful old French Villa. English spoken.

Comments: 6

Honda in Vietnam.

Honda in Vietnam.

Thursday, 10 September 2009

Apparently they call motorbikes "honda", it doesn't matter if it's yamaha, kawasaki, suzuki or vespa, they are all honda in Vietnam. And they are EVERYWHERE, and EVERYONE is on it including babies and live chikens. Sometimes you see a whole family riding on one bike, father, mother and two kids squashed together. Crossing the streets was a real hassle, I thought I wouldn't be able to come home alive at the beginning but hey I got the hang of it and became so good at it in the end. Never panic or run but be calm, put your chin up and walk slowly passing the honda one by one. That was the trick I learned.

It seemed as though there are no rules on the streets (I even saw a honda driving the wrong way on the highway), but when it comes to parking they were so neat that it got me surprised. There are so so many bicycles parked on the streets in Japan, but often they are terrible. Getting better these days, but still they beat us.

Comments: 10

The 36 Streets : Hanoi's Old Quarter

The 36 Streets : Hanoi's Old Quarter

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

In the Hanoi's old quarter so called "The 36 Streets", everything is there, so full of life. We got lost and probably walked around most of the streets. It was fun just looking at all the things that were sold there. People didn't seem so keen on selling things, it seemed they'd rather keep napping than being woken up and do business. It saved me from over-shopping.

Comments: 11