Vietnamese God

Coles Bay

2009-11-09T10:50:00.005+07:00

As I mentioned in the last few posts, Tasmania in general including Coles Bay on the Freycinet peninsula has a cool climate especially in the evening. During the day, the weather is so nice with sunshine, blue skies but the air is a bit crisp. From 4pm, I feel as if I need to put more clothes on. Coles Bay is a pretty small town surrounded by beautiful beaches. It's not surprising that it's hard to find accommodation and we ended up driving around the town for a while. Finally, we decided to stay at the hotstel at the Illuka Holiday Park for 2 nights. Even though we had to share a bathroom and kitchen, it was a well-run place, clean and tidy.

We stayed in a small room and cooked our own dinner before going to the Iluka Tavern for a drink. After not much luck with wifi access in Tasmania, I couldn't believe that they had free wifi here so I spent almost two hours emailing and updating photos. It is necessary to stay at least two nights in this area and will spend most of the day hours walking up the mountain to see Wineglass Bay then walk down to the beach. Everyone told me that is the most beautiful place in Tasmania that no-one should miss.

Anyway, we started our day with a walk up to the Wineglass lookout then down to one of the most beautiful wild white sand beaches I've seen. Before we started our walk, we saw a Wallaby in the car park. These animals look like kangaroos but smaller. I was a bit worried at the beginning even though I really wanted to pat him. People say they could attack with their front feet but my friend came over and the wallaby was actually very friendly and licked her fingers. I did the same thing and he licked me too. I was so happy that I tried that and luckily my friends got some shots. Anyway, we started out trek up to the lookout point, the view was amazing. I couldn’t stop taking photos and when we finished our three hours walk, I realized that I'd taken more photos than I really needed. From the lookout, we walked down again and headed to the beach. This walk was quite steep and slippery. It was worth all our energy to see this beach and the colour of the water reminded me of the beaches in Greece, blue water and white sand. Just gorgeous!. Lucky though that I had been exercising a lot before so I didn’t feel too bad, but a bit stiff:).

On our climb we saw quite a few terribly overweight people trying to walk up to the lookout. Many of them already felt exhausted and were leaning back on rocks or sitting down on the ground holding their knees. Some of them weren’t looking good at all but their families forced them to keep going. I am not sure they could make it up to the top or back down to the start. Anyway, we spent over two hours walking before going back to town for lunch. My friends went to the light house for a wander but I decided to take a rest at the restaurant in town which provided FREE Wifi to uploaded photos and email. I feel regret now after I saw their photos and I may go up to the light house before I leave. They may lend me their photos so I can show you.

We will head to Launceston tomorrow for a night and hope to have enough time to visit some wineries, a chocolate factory and a cheese factory.

Hobart

2009-11-06T00:03:00.000+07:00

I felt so cold last night even though I had two blankets on. It was no wonder as my friends told me it was zero degree during the night. I have never ever been in such a cold situation before and I am a bit worried about my health as for the rest of the trip it could get even colder here in Tasmania. It took us over 6 hours to get to Hobart from Strahan as we stopped to visit Queens town and Lake St. Clair for a bit. Queenstown was not really interesting as it’s kind of a mining town with a few shops and pubs but with old fashioned and charming. Lake St. Clair is so beautiful and peaceful surrounded by huge green tall trees.

Anyway, we finally arrived in Hobart, and after consulting our accommodation magazines that I picked up from the laundry, I called the Welcome Stranger Hotel which is located right near the harbour and also in the city centre. They had several rooms left. We got a good deal and went down to have some dinner at Salamanca Place. I couldn’t find any internet cafés around and finally, we decided to have some pizza for our dinner. Surprisingly, the Cargo restaurant had wifi and it was free. I was so happy with that not because of the free internet, but because they served really nice pizza and French cheese. We had a margarita and a tandoori chicken pizza and they were really great plus the wine was cheaper compared to other shops nearby. Hobart seems a very busy city like other cities at 5pm in the afternoon. There are lots of interesting buildings around mixing old style and the new modern style.

On the second day, we walked along Salamanca street and Battery Point for an hour checking out the shops and beautiful old houses. This is the most expensive area in Hobart I think as it has great views to the harbour. Some houses are over a hundred years old but in good condition so that they are now used in business as hotels, restaurants and shops. We went into a small gift shop in front of the harbour and talked to the seller who sells ethnic minority products including stuff from Sapa in Vietnam. It was such an interesting conversation as she explained the history of the building and talked of her boss' trips to Vietnam. The building had been used to store gunpowder in the old days and had also been some kind of post office museum. We spent about an hour just talking about stuff from Vietnam and I was explaining to her where they are originally from and so on. Anyway, later on, we joined a boat cruise for over an hour up the Derwent River. The boat was nice and we got some education from the captain who explained most things of interest on both sides of the river. After that, we drove up to the top of Mt. Wellington for a great look down at the whole city of Hobart. It’s such a great place to look at the city and the beauty of Hobart and we were actually above the clouds which is even more amazing. I love that feeling that I am higher than everything and also like I am on the plane.

At the end of the day, we spent some time to relax and try our luck at the lobby of the hotel which has poker machines and the Keno bingo game. Surprisingly I won A$30 for the first time which paid for my beautiful dinner at Mure's seafood restaurant which is located on the harbour. My friends and I ordered some grilled fish, salad and seafood platters which included french fries and salad. The seafood was so fresh and tasty, just loved it so much.

We headed back to the hotel for an early night as it was pretty cold and also we wanted to wake up early in the morning for our drive to the Freycinet Peninsula. We wanted to spend more time in Hobart as there is other stuff to see and do. I hope the weather is going to get brighter with more sun and heat as I am struggling with the cool temperatures a bit so far.

Cradle Mountain

2009-11-04T07:52:00.001+07:00

We spent almost 3 hours driving from Stanley to Cradle Mountain; the road was really windy in parts but mostly good so we had a good trip. We couldn’t find any cafés along the road so we ended up stopping at the resort on the way into the Cradle Mountain settlement. It was a bit expensive and I decided to have a glass of local Tasmanian wine, a nice Sauvignon Blanc which made me dizzy as I hadn't had any breakfast!

We stayed at the Discovery Holiday Park suggested by the RACV accommodation guide. It was the cheapest accommodation in quite an expensive place. We went down to the tourist information centre to have something for lunch; we had some soup which was very nice. We bought the holiday ticket to enter all national parks around Tasmania. After that, we caught the park bus down to the walking spot and started our walk.

We walked from Snake Hill to Dove Lake which took us about 2 hours for over 5kms. The scenery was so beautiful that we didn’t realize how far we walked or how much time had passed. We took so many photos of trees, wild animals, lakes and the beautiful mountain with snow on the top. This is the first time ever that I've seen snow and I think I may try to walk up near the top to touch the snow. It would be very cold but it's worth a go. We will come back here tomorrow to walk around the lake which will take about 3 hours. I hope the weather is warmer as today it was very cold especially in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t do anything on the second day as it was raining and really cold. We missed the lake walk which has the best views of the snow on the top of the mountain. To fill time, we decided to get some education about the area from the information centre. After that, we went to Cradle Mountain Lodge Tavern for a coffee. As the rain got heavier and colder, we had lunch. We had had some pizzas for dinner there last night and the food was excellent even though it was a bit dear and over our budget. The lamb shrank looked amazing and I went for it today and it was just delicious. My friends had the trio of dips and mountain nachos, I tasted them all and they were damn good. This lodge is a cosy place on a rainy day with friendly staff, great food and good views from the restaurant. If I ever go back to Cradle Mountain again, I will definitely come here to have all my meals and stay in this place as well.

We are going to Strahan tomorrow morning for a night before heading to Hobart. I hope we will have great weather so that we can spend sometime in the sun.

Stanley

2009-10-31T06:51:00.000+07:00

It took us about two hours to drive from Devonport to Stanley as we stopped at many places on the way and we spent quite a lot of time at a tulip farm. I have never ever seen tulips in my life and they are so gorgeous especially the black queen of the night variety, which is really amazing. The multi-coloured flame of Paris is beautiful, too. They are all beautiful and this has been one of the highlights of my trip.

Anyway, we arrived and stayed one night at Stanley on the way to Cradle Mountain, one of the prime tourist areas of Tasmania. I’m glad to be here because this is such a small lovely town. For lunch, we all had fish and chips. As this is a fishing town, the fish was so fresh and tasty but eating all those chips means I have to do more exercise. The weather was very beautiful with sunshine but as we expected in Tasmania, the temperature was cold and we used the heater for the whole night.

Stanley has only about 1000 people; everything seems in a really good condition from the houses to the roads. In fact, the town has been voted ‘tidiest town in Tasmania’. People here are very friendly. Accommodation, dining out and drinks are a bit dear compared to Melbourne. We stayed at Stanley Cabin Tourist Park which was budget but still quite expensive. The cabins are all self-contained and very comfortable and we just stayed for one night so we didn’t really shop around for other rooms. We cooked our dinner together and have some OZ wines which we brought with us. The Internet is not popular here as they only have one place in the tourist centre. Luckily the women at reception gave me a chance to use the hotel connection for free. I spent most of my time online downloading photos and updating the web blog. I better stop right now as we are driving up to the top of the mountain to have a quick look at the whole town from a distance to take a few photos. I want to publish this before the lady comes and kicks me out.

Anyway, see you on the next post about Cradle Mountain trip.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Happens

2009-10-27T06:12:00.000+07:00

Today I felt like playing tennis and we took the car to get there. When we reversed the car, we didn't check carefully and backed into another car on the side of the road. Even though it was a minor accident, it costs a lot especially in Australia. It may not cost much in Hanoi but it's expensive here. Luckily, the Korean owner doesn't really care about the car and he wanted the cash instead of getting it fixed which suited us just fine. Unfortunately it cost $500 plus the cost of fixing my friend's car. I hope this is the end of my bad luck for this trip, especially as we are heading to Tasmania tomorrow evening by ferry.

I hope the weather will be warm there as I don't really like cold weather. Many people told me that it's quite cold there especially in the evening. But Tasmania is a beautiful place worth going to so I am really looking forward to discovering the island state. I will be there for 10 days and hoping I will be enjoy the beautiful scenery in Tasmania. Wish me luck!!!

Short Break

2009-10-24T06:12:00.000+07:00

After a short flight(Jetstar) from Melbourne to Sydney, I realized that I had forgotten my Ipod on the plane. I couldn't get it back when I talked to the official at Sydney airport. I was a bit disappointed after calling them a few times and they kept telling me that they will call back but it never happened, which is pretty bad service. Anyway, as people say," Shit happens".

However, we arrived in Melbourne and decided to take the skybus to the city then a train to my friend's house. It's unbelievable that the train system in Melbourne is so bad, with most of the trains running late and changes to the timetable without informing customers. We were waiting at Southern Cross station for a train which was delayed 10 to 15 mintues and when we got on the right one, after the first station, they announced that the train was going to a different destination. We had to get out to change trains with many other people and we were then late for my friend's birthday party. Most people seemed very upset about the hopeless system but what can we do?

So we arrived at Sarah and Chris' birthday party 1 hour late. Anyway, their party was held at The Mill Bar and Restaurant which is located in the city centre. This is such a beautiful bar and they served delicious food. As it was quite busy after a big horse race, we had few drinks at the bar then went up to the second floor for dinner. Among other things, we ordered freshly shucked oysters with soy and lemon shallot vinaigrette, sumac rolled pork belly with roasted apple mash, onion proscuitto relish and jus, braised ham hock risotto with tomato, gruyere and parsley, Atlantic salmon fillet on steamed bok choi chilli and cumin pickled corrots, Black Angus eye fillet with horseradish mash, beetroot pickle and red wine jus and Roquette, roasted corn, grana padano and white balsamic vinaigrette for a side dish. For dessert, we had dark chocolate brownie with salted peanut caramel, hazelnut tuille and Swiss, orange and almond pudding with spiced syrup, vanilla anglaise and rhubarb ice cream. We had no complaints about food in this restaurant as it tasted so good, was beautifully presented and the staff made some great recommendations.

Thanks to Sarah and Chris for inviting us to join their happy event and I look forward to many more events to come in the future. Happy belated birthday to you guys.

Sydney City

2009-10-20T19:38:00.000+07:00

We took the number 378 bus to Sydney again for a big day of adventure to discover the Opera House, the Harbour and Manly. On the way into the city, we decided to take a look at Bondi Junction and have some something to eat at the food court (in the Harbour room!)on the 5th floor, which has a fantastic city view. The food wasn't bad there but quite dear, I think but we are starting to think in Aussie dollars now instead of converting everthing to VND which can make you crazy!

We took a train to Circular Quay by the harbour to take a ferry heading to Manly Town. It's a small lovely beach suburb northeast of Sydney which has so many shops with great deals. Most of the stuff was on sale up to 70% off and I wonder how can they earn money if they offer such discounts? Most stuff of course, is made in China and I think that's the reason why it's so cheap. We walked toward the beach to have a wander then went into the pub on thebeach to have a schooner (big beer) and play a game of Keno. It was fun and we managed to play for a half hour on $10!

About 2 hours later, we took another ferry back to Sydney to have a close look at the Opera House. It's a great piece of architecture with an amazing shape in the best location in Sydney. There are hundreds of people hanging around there taking photos and lots of them are from Japan, Korea and Europe. I think I was the only Vietnamese here. Also there are quite a few couples taking their wedding photos around and between that, their families and friends are having drinks at the Opera Bar. This bar has great views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and to the north shore. We decided to have a beer here to take a break and look at the great view in the afternoon. It's a shame that we couldn't make it till sunset as Australia has daylight saving at the moment which makes the day seem longer. Maybe next time.

Sydney has so many festivals and functions almost everyday and we tried to go to the Asian noodles festival near Goerge street but it was too crowded and we didn't want to queue up for hours to get a delicious bowl of noodles as we didn't have as much time as other people. We changed our mind and took a train back to Bondi Junction to have dinner then another bus to Bronte. We kept changing our mind about food and we missed two buses by just half a minute. We walked into Chu Bay II, a Vietnamese restaurant to eat after a few kilometres walking. We ordered some fresh spring rolls, and chicken salad which was not very nice and quite salty. The main courses included stir fried beef with chilli and lemongrass and fried rice which wasn't too bad. I can't believe I paid so much for very average Vietnamese food!

We will take a flight back to Melbourne today for my friend's brother in law's birthday party then we head to Tasmania for 10 days od discovery. See you guys in the next post.

Sydney Here I am

2009-10-19T03:04:00.001+07:00

Luckily enough through a connection in Hanoi, a friend of a friend, we were able to stay in Bronte Beach in Sydney. We hired her beautiful sea view apartment for 3 days for a very special price. We were so happy to have this place and even though it's not big it has a great view of Bronte Beach, from over the cafe and in front of the bus stop which was so convenient. Bronte is just a few minutes walk to Bondi beach which is the most famous beach in Sydney, around one of the most spectacular city coastal walks. It's such an amazing place with an amazing view. Just loved it!!!

We took a bus trip to the city, which took us about 20 minutes with many stops but cost only $6.40 round trip. We walked from Central Station down to Darling Habour for a wander around and it's so so beautiful. We spent about 2 hours there walking around and taking photos. I realized that Sydney is totally different compared to Melbourne with a few more tall buildings and life here seems faster and it definitely has better weather. I am so glad to be here.

I have to run now to meet up with my friend, Paula who used to live in Hanoi. We will meet her in Newtown for a drink but we will have dinner there beforehand. She's such a lovely woman and I am really looking forward to meeting her this time. I will get back to the city tomorrow again to visit Sydney Habour, the Opera House and Manly. I hope I can visit all of them in a day as I want to spend some more time on Bondi beach and have a good look around Bronte Town.

Australia, Welcome Back!!!

2009-10-15T05:16:00.001+07:00

After a long flight which stopped in Kuala Lumpur, I finally have arrived in Melbourne to start my 5 weeks holiday. This is my second time in Australia but I feel like it's the first time as I haven't been back here since 2005. Everything looks familiar but I need to restart my brain again to make sure which places I've been to. I don't think I will have any trouble here as Australia is such a multi-cultural country and people seem very friendly and easy going. I spent half a day shopping for winter clothes today in Melbourne as it's a bit too cold for me. Shopping here in Melbourne is not really expensive as they have many options plus spring is almost over so tthe warm clothes prices are down quite low but some brands are still very expensive such as Kathmandu...

In the afternoon, I went to my friend's sister's house for dinner. She cooked beautiful pasta and stired fried asparagus with lemon and pepper. It was so yummy but I need to behave myself so I didn't eat alot :). I was very surprised that the food in OZ is not that expensive, veggies and meat as well are cheap. There are many things much cheaper than in Vietnam especially WINE!!!!! I love wine and a decent bottle ranges from AU$6 up to Au$15. If you buy 6 bottles you can get 30% off and of course, we bought 6 bottles on the first day. It sounds like I am an alcoholic! I think that because there are lots of wineries in Australia, they need to be competitive in price which is good for the local people including me:).

Anyway, I better stop here and get into bed for my 3 day trip to Sydney tomorrow morning. I hope I have enough time to make my noodles for breakfast before I leave. I also will try to spend some time in between to publish some photos and ideas about my trip.

Travel With Air Asia

2009-10-13T09:02:00.001+07:00

Most of my friends have been using Air Asia for a long time. I was a bit worried about cheap airlines but I think why don't I give it a go when I can save almost a thousand dollars compared to Thai Airways or Vietnam Airlines.

Even though the connections are not always great as we had to stop over at Kuala Lumpur for almost a whole day but it's a good chance for my friend to discover Malaysia, one of the places that I always love. Airline food is not always great but it was actually not so bad this time especially from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne. I had a great flight and I think I will keep using this airline for many more years.

Truc Bach Lake

2009-10-06T15:41:00.001+07:00

There is no doubt about the beauty of Truc Bach Lake is but it not always a pleasant place to be because of the pollution and waste in the lake and the craziness on the street in the evening. Almost every single house opens a hotpot restaurant and their staff keep annoying people who drive past. The problem is that they are not supposed to do business on the foot path around the lake. When the police come, they try to move their tables, mats... and leave all the rubbish behind. Besides that, Hanoian don't seem to care about the environment as they throw eveything possible into the lake including plastic bags, bottles and food scraps.

Today, I talked to one of the staff of the Hanoi water company on the side of the lake while they were trying to dredge Truc Bach Lake. According to him, " Hanoi water company dredges Truc Bach Lake every two years but they have changed the routine now, as it's getting polluted very quickly due to the habits of the people who live around the lake and their customers. From this year, they will clean up the lake every year to maintain the clean water and the environment for not only the lake but for Hanoi as well". From what I've seen today, these workers are working so hard. Some of them even have to stay overnight in a small floating boat to keep an eye on their machinery. I personally think that the best idea is to educate people about the environment and encourage them to keep the area around their properties tidy.

I hope people pay more attention to the environment to keep Hanoi clean and green, particularly as Hanoi's 1000 year anniversary is not too far away. Please keep the world alive!!!

Mid Autumn Festival

2009-10-03T17:36:00.002+07:00

Yet another mid autumn festival is coming and it makes me feel older. I went to Hang Ma street to try to take some photos last night and I could feel the great atmosphere of it. Many parents had taken their children to shop as the festval is tonight.

I always enjoy going down there to watch people shopping for cakes, lanterns, fake money and many other things. In the old days, I had to make my own lantern with bamboo chop sticks and rubber bands to hold them together. I also used colored paper or notebook paper or newspapers to put around the sticks and glued them on with glue or rice. It was a fun thing to do with friends. Nowadays, parents buy beautiful lanterns which need batteries for music and light. The whole festival has become quite commercial and I personally think that children should do something special for themselve instead of buying from the market. I must be getting old?

Accidents Avoidable!!!!!

2009-10-01T13:02:00.002+07:00

This is not my photo

To reduce traffic accidents in Hanoi, the local council has been investing money in local road infrastructure. Underground tunnels and overpasses are being built to ease traffic congestion and safety for crossing the street but local people don't use these useful and safe ways. It seems they prefer to walk across the chaotic streets even though the dangers are always great.

This is not my photo

I'm glad to see the fast and positive changes in Hanoi in the fast few years. But also I wish people would pay more attention to rules as it not only affects them but other people as well. It's tragic and disappointing to see people die everyday on the roads here for mostly avoidable reasons.

Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel

2009-09-23T21:14:00.001+07:00

Visiting Sapa in the summer is developing into a bit of a tradition amongst Hanoians largely to escape the heat of the capital. Recently, I joined the throngs of locals and foreign tourists for the overnight train journey up to the hills. Unfortunately, we arrived on a day of heavy rain which did not bode well in our search for a hotel. Looking like drowned rats after a few knock-backs, we found Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel which is located close to the markets and main road. Offering great views back up to Sapa town as well as a panorama down over the rice paddies and up to the mountains, the hotel is on the road down to Cat Cat village. It is such a brilliant location and we were so glad to have found this hotel completely by chance and luckier still that they had some vacancies.

The Sapa Rooms has been thoughtfully designed with original paintings and artwork, furnished and decorated in contemporary tones with touches of local tribal culture. A feature of the comfortable lounge area is a large golden bust of ‘Uncle Ho’ which strangely did not seem out of place amongst the eclectic mix of art and handicrafts. The rooms themselves all have views – something that is imperative for a stay in the mountains, especially when you’ve come from the city. Each room has some lovely cosy features, including shaggy rugs on the floor, marvelous tall vases and books laying on the beds on arrival.

The hotel restaurant serves excellent interesting food with the menu changing regularly according to whatever seasonal organic and free range produce is available from the local suppliers. I especially loved their grilled green banana and tofu casserole, the grilled Sapa pork fillet marinated in lemon grass and the exotic side dish of grilled pineapple and chilli. Another favourite was the baked fish wrapped in banana leaf. Lunch and breakfast or drinks after a hard day trekking can be enjoyed on the outdoor terrace, perfect for a glass of crisp Australian white or a cold beer. If trekking doesn’t appeal, a lazy day with coffee and a good book can also be spent here.

I highly recommend this hotel as their staff was so helpful and friendly; I also like the fact that the owners are putting something back into the local community. They are committed to improving the living standards of ethnic minority groups by contributing to local development and education projects. The Sapa Rooms proprietors invest all of the profits from trekking for such purposes in addition to providing decent wages to the young girls they employ as guides. These girls are truly delightful and really make the whole Sapa experience worthwhile so the investment made by the hotel is already having positive impacts.

The Sapa Rooms is a winner all round.

123 Run

2009-09-16T23:07:00.003+07:00

My ex-colleagues invited me to join them for dinner at 123 restaurant, which is one of the most popular homemade fast food restaurants in Hanoi. According to my friends, this restaurant located on Pho Hue Street is always busy for both lunch and dinner. In Vietnam, wherever the crowds are generally means the place is good but I did have my doubts about this place.

When we arrived the other night, each of the three storeys at this restaurant was full. The service was pretty efficient I have to say, with each order including a small bowl of broth, some veggies and pickles. I ordered fried boneless lemon chicken but funnily enough I swallowed a small piece of bone which was a worry. People say that chicken bones can be quite dangerous when they get stuck in the throat. I had to eat several full mouthfuls of rice to finally get the small bone down. Oh my gosh, it makes me feel uncomfortable thinking about it now. My friends were laughing at me and I did feel like an idiot but I was so scared. This is a good excuse to refuse an invitation to 123 next time.

Wedding

2009-09-07T22:33:00.005+07:00

There were so many things to prepare for my sister’s wedding and we spent more than just a day to get everything finished. My brother in-law asked his friends to come over to our house to help us to decorate the house. It’s so fun doing it and it reminded me lots about weddings in the past when my other sisters were getting married. My family always celebrated wedding parties at home instead of at hotels or restaurants except for my brother’s wedding. We usually bought a huge piece of carton or foam which we cut into two pigeons, hearts and names then stuck them on the wall. We also went to our neighbors to cut down some coconut leaves to make a happy gate. It’s a lot of work but we just loved it so much and we decided to do the wedding in the same style this time.

Anyway, when the time arrived my brother’s friends came in two taxis to present the groom with trays of fruit, cakes, wine, tea ….they were 6 guys in navy uniforms. It looked great and everyone seemed enjoy that part of the ceremony heaps. I wasn’t in that group as my responsibility was to be the chief photographer. I loved observing the second part of the ceremony when the family and relatives presented their gifts to the bride and groom as I am curious about what they give and what it looks like. I do prefer giving cash to be honest which they can use for whatever purpose. This is the typical way in Asia. The wedding's second party was celebrated on the same day in the evening at Angela restaurant. The celebration included 10 tables of good friends, relatives and colleagues in a private room.

I met lots of my sister’s old friends who I haven’t seen for years. They are all married with kids and successful in their jobs. We also talked about our childhood when I was a little boy chasing them to the beach or to the farm catching insects or fishing. Talking to them brought back so many beautiful memories and it made me sad thinking about those beautiful times. Wish I could turn back time!!!! My sister looked so happy on that day and we were all happy for her especially my mother. It seemed to be her day today as well. She was talking to everyone and really appreciated their appearance at the party.

The restaurant served good food with soup for the starter, chicken, prawns, seafood hotpot, squid and some vegetables. Everyone had a great time eating and drinking beers. I was glad that my family refused the music show because everyone had a chance to really talk and catch up. It would have ruined the evening as it'd be very noisy and noone could have a decent conversation.

Thanks to my family, my relatives and friends who came to celebrate this memorable event, we appreciate your work and love. We all wish my sister Hang and Quang a beautiful life ahead, not 100 years as others say but another 60 years would be great for them.

Happy National Day!!!

2009-09-03T22:59:00.002+07:00

This is the 8th national day that I have spent in Hanoi, which means I have been living here for over 8 years. I love this romantic city, the food and beautuful sunset in the afternoon at West Lake. But the winter is just terrible - something I'll never ever forget for the rest of my life as it's damn cold even when I'm wearing 4 shirts, 3 pants, gloves and a woollen hat on my body. The best time of the year is autumn from September to November.

Yesterday's Independence Day was a good chance for everyone to have a day off to relax or go away with family and friends. Surprisingly Hanoi was a bit quiet as most people took advantage to escape to the countryside or to the north. I love Hanoi during big celebration days as I can drive around easily; no traffic jam, no crazy drivers and so peaceful. I prefer to hang around in Hanoi rather than going away because prices at holiday destinations tend to be inflated and they get really crowded, too. Better to stay home and really relax!

Happy National Day everyone, I hope you guys have a beautiful day.

Chicken in a Coke Can

2009-08-24T22:07:00.002+07:00

Chicken in a Coke can? Sounds weird doesn't it? But in Hanoi nothing is impossible. People serve chicken with chinese herbs in old coke cans and it's very common and famous. Known as ga tan, I love this dish very much.

There are two kinds of ga tan, one is black chicken and the other is normal chicken. The black chicken ga tan is smaller and more expensive. I dont know why it is more expensive as they cook it with the same herbs as the normal chicken, and the black chicken doesn't actually have as much meat compared to the other.

In general this is a healthy snack as it is not too filling. It is full of different medicinal herbs which are supposed to be good for your health. I eat one every week and I think it helps me to sleep very much. I'm not sure if there's any real truth in these theories about certain foods being good for you. I suppose if you hear it often enough, you start to believe it.

Speeding Bush

2009-08-20T07:11:00.000+07:00

It's amazing what you can see on the roads in Hanoi. Lastweekend, while I was driving along the dyke road toward the old quarter for lunch, I saw a huge green pile of vegetation about 5 metres high moving along the road in the distance. From behind, you couldn't even see a vehicle. As I got closer it became clear that it wasn't a moving tree. It was a truck full of tree branches which were kind of sweeping the road sending heaps of dust and leaves into the eyes of everyone behind it.

Finally, I got my photograph and got the hell away from it. I could imagine that somewhere down the road the whole lot would fall off and cause a big traffic accident. There are laws about what can be transported on trucks and motorbikes in Hanoi but there doesn't seem to be much action to control it.

I lost my photos for this article

Hot Hot Hot

2009-08-11T08:09:00.002+07:00

Hanoi these days is so hot plus the high humidity makes the temperature feel even worse. I couldn't be bothered cooking tonight even though I went into the market this afternoon. I decided to go to beer hoi near my place to have a few beers and eat something before going home to do my home work. I have been studying academic English at ACET for a week so far and it takes most of my time at school and at home. It's good to keep updated with the language as I am not a native speaker.

Drinking cold beer on such hot days is great. I can totally feel where the beer goes. It sounds like I am an alcoholic but I do like drinking beer or white wine especially in summer. Food in the beer hoi was ok and reasonable and beer is cheap. We only paid 150,000Vnd for two people.

The beers tasted even sweeter as I just got my visa for Australia and my trip will take place in the second week of October for 5 weeks. Really looking forward to it!

Thai Food Express in Viet Nam

2009-08-05T08:53:00.003+07:00

Thai Express is a new fast food chain in Viet Nam. It's new for us but it's been popular for a long time in a few different countries. It can be called fast food but I think it's more gourmet as it is very tasty and not really expensive.

I tried Thai Express the first time with my friend in Saigon and last week in Hanoi. I was impressed by how busy they were already, by the good food they served and by the helpful staff. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the coffee which was not the best but the other drinks were fine. They made very nice salads, stick noodles with seafood in Tom Yum soup, Thailand's pineapple rice fried with seafood and quite a few other Thai specialties.

This is a great place for a quick lunch if you don't have lots of time. For those who are vegetarian it's also a good place to pick. It's an air-conditioned restaurant which is vital for the hot summer weather Hanoi has at the moment. If you are in Hanoi, Thai Express is located right at the top end of Hoan Kiem Lake with a view over the lake. In Ho Chi Minh City, they are pretty centrally located in District 3 but have no view. You'll just have to make do with a great smile from the staff.

Nhà hàng ThaiExpress
Địa chỉ: Số 7 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hà Nội
Số điện thoại: 04 62 822 822
Website: http://www.thaiexpress.vn/

Sapa July 09

2009-07-31T09:16:00.006+07:00

We arrived in Sapa on such a heavy rainy day and we finally found a very nice boutique hotel called Sapa Rooms Hotel. We put everything in there, took a quick shower and went out for breakfast and shopping. I suppose it sounds a bit crazy to go shopping in the rain but I quite enjoyed it and I wasn't the only one!

The ethnic minority sellers speak English very well but they do tend to be a bit pushy but I understand why. They followed me for a long way until I bought something from them. I was trying to ignore them but they kept asking me about a million times so I had to talk to them for a while and finally bought some small things from each. This handmade stuff isn't expensive at all and very beautiful. I bought about 6 blankets, a few H'mong hats, wristbands and a necklace.... I hope the sellers were as happy with my purchases as I am.

We had lunch at Mimosa restaurant in Cau May street. It is a very nice, cosy restaurant which I always go to whenever I am in Sapa. It's not very expensive but I love the atmosphere, which is casual and friendly. We ate quite a lot and I love the grilled venison, grilled pork, Sapa veggies and the sour broth. We only paid about 100,000 VND each, which is an amazing price for the amount of food we ate!

My friends wanted to visit the temple in Sapa called Den Mau and we went there for a quick prayer. I hope my prayer for luck, good health and a bit of wealth will come true soon so I can afford many more holidays :)

The next day was a really beautiful day in the afternoon in which we took a long walk down to Cat Cat village to take more photos and do a bit more shopping. After all the rain, it was great to see the blue sky against the white clouds, everything looking very clear and clean. I really appeciate this natural beauty. I think Sapa is a nice place to come for this purpose.

We left later that afternoon and on the way down to the train station at Lao Cai, we saw a bus on fire with only the frame and ashes left. I was a bit worried as on the way up, as we got stuck for almost an hour due to the rain and crazy traffic. Our bus couldn't move as we were bogged in the clay and many people just tried to get around us which was a night mare. Luckily, this road is under construction and a man driving the road digging machine came over and helped us to solve the problem.

Anyway, we arrived at the station on time and had dinner before the journey back to Hanoi and the heat. I hope it's going to rain tomorrow. Thanks to the hotel staff and my friends for giving me a great time to discover Sapa once again.

Visa For Australia Trip

2009-07-19T17:07:00.005+07:00

Going back to Australia is so exciting as there is still so much more to discover. It is such a huge country and it is pointless to go there for just a few weeks. I hope I can see more of the beauty of Australia.

Today I went to IOM, an agency which processes all visa applications in Hanoi, to apply for the visa for my trip. Everything seemed to go well except there was a heavy storm and I didn't bring enough money. Luckily, another applicant lent me the rest to pay the fee before I ran down stairs and down a few blocks to withdraw money to pay her back. I was so thankful for her generosity. Thank god she helped me or I would have had to go back the next day. I hope my visa will be available in two weeks. Wish me luck guys!!!

Sapa July 09

2009-07-16T07:59:00.005+07:00

I am going back to Sapa with some friends to escape the heat of Hanoi for a weekend. It's been a nightmare to get tickets as we wanted to get a whole cabin on the train for six of us. My friend spent a few days trying to buy these train tickets but he found it impossible. He asked his friend to book through an agency to get them and we paid extra for thisspecial service. It's annoying that no legitimate tickets are available but the black market has plenty of different kinds of tickets and they are very expensive.

I called a few hotels in Sapa yesterday but they are full or really expensive. We have decided to stay in a guest house with a good deal. In 2007, we went up there and we also stayed in a guest house and it was fine, clean and only $7. I hope I can get the same deal this time instead of paying $25 or $35 for a double room. One hotel receptionist told me that about 10,000 people went to Sapa last weekend and it would be the same this weekend. Bloody hell, I hope it won't be that crowded or I will have to stay in the hotel the whole weekend. I will get back to Hanoi on Sunday with some news about my trip and would probably share some photos as well.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mangosteen Restaurant

2009-07-04T17:05:00.001+07:00

The mangosteen is an exotic tropical fruit with luscious segments of white flesh inside. The Movenpick Hotel has taken inspiration from this fruit in the naming of its restaurant, which is located on the second floor with views across some of Hanoi’s fine French Colonial buildings. The space is artfully decked out with walls the colour of mangosteens, splashes of purple in the furniture upholstery and the modern paintings on the walls. The table setting includes a glass cube vase containing a single white gerbera and a green fern frond. The décor promises much.

And the menu offers a range of choices that would satisfy most diner’s palates.

For our starters, we opted for the seared scallops served atop a delicate fresh garden salad of lettuce, herbs and avocado and a swiss chicken salad, rich and sweet with cheese, apple and a mayonnaise dressing. The portions, on teardrop shaped white plates, were perfectly sized which we appreciated later when our main courses arrived. A generous selection of breads, including some great salty pretzels, was served on the side. We probably ate too many of those.

From the grill we selected our main courses, which were served with potatoes and vegetables done to the customer’s liking. Accompanying the salmon was a neat stack of crumbed roasted vegetables and crispy potato rosti along with a ramekin of creamy lemon sauce. The stack of lamb cutlets got delivered on a flat raft of spring beans and came circled with halved new potatoes served face down. A herby mint sauce with a hint of chili finished the dish nicely. The kitchen staff should be commended for the timing, temperature and presentation of these meals, all of which were spot on.

Suitably impressed by this stage, there was little need nor room in the stomach for dessert. So we rested for a while to make room.

Room for big desserts with a distinctively European feel. A king size serve of apple strudel came with homemade vanilla ice-cream and cream while the vanilla soufflé contrasted with the raspberry coulis alongside it. Every single mouthful was savoured even though we were both full to bursting.

The Swiss do hospitality well, with the local staff representing them professionally with service that was warm, efficient and hardly noticeable. Movenpick’s venture in Hanoi appears on the way to success if our meal at their classy Mangosteen restaurant is any indication.