Vietnam has been a French colony, and partly under American administration. Hanoi is one city which had lots of damage in past wars. We love peace and we have actually tried our best to build up the city that won the city of peace award from UNESCO last year. Since independence, Hanoi has improved so fast. Vietnam is continuing to open and wants everyone of all countries to come and invest. That past is not all forgotten here but we want a better world of peace and happiness.
David Lamb, a very famous journalist from the Los Angeles Times was a war reporter in the south of Vietnam, thought of Hanoi, before he returned to Vietnam in 1997 as "a city of war ruins." After that, he wrote in the National Geographic that "Hanoi has pushed the ghosts of war away" and that "Hanoi is a city full of vitality and beautiful scenery, of gracious lakes surrounding old trees and French buildings."
Travel Leisure-America tour magazine voted Hanoi as one of the best five cities in Asia based on its people, food, traditions and history, following a million votes from readers around the world. This is the second year that Hanoi has been honored with this award.
Hanoi has also held a very successful ASEM conference, big sport events such as the Sea Games, Tiger Cup and many other political events that have made a good impression to international organizations.
Hanoi has almost a thousand years of history, recognized easily by the old houses in the old quarter, the thousand year old trees around the city and lots of old French buildings surrounding the city. Hanoians are also slightly different to people from other parts of Vietnam. The elegant way that Hanoians dress, eat, walk and talk makes the difference.
There are so many fairs and festivals these days to celebrate the pride of Hanoi. So many cultural activities, about such things as Hanoi fashion history, music shows, childrens' painting, poetry readings and food festivals.
The changes in Hanoi nowadays also have an effect on traditional behavior. Our lifestyle has changed a bit, the way young people behave but this reality is happening to all countries in the world. This development brings both good and bad but we should try to manage the bad things to the lowest percentage as possible and keep working on it.
Whenever visitors come to Hanoi, they like to visit all of the very interesting, old traditional villages such as Bat Trang- Ceramic village, Van Phuc- Silk village, Dong Ky- Firecracker village, Dong Hong- painting village, Le Mat- Snake village and don't forget the But Thap pagoda, Ambassador's pagoda and Tran Quoc pagoda which are beautiful and really old. Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam is the place you must go to see the first Vietnamese university which is located near Uncle Ho's mausoleum. The Ho Chi Minh museum, Fine arts museum, Revolutionary museum, museum of Ethnology, History museum and Hoa Lo prison museum are places also worth visiting.
The Water Puppets is a great traditional show worth attending because of the talented actors and actresses, which can only be seen in Vietnam. Don't miss it!
Two days ago, on 1o October, Hanoians celebrated 995 years of history (the old name, Thang Long, means Flying Dragon), and lots of people came to Hanoi during this really special event to remember and imagine how this old and great city once was.
If you ever want a job that is hard work with shit pay, become a Street Porter. I have talked to quite a few men and women in this job and I can't believe that they do so much for so little money. They carry hundreds of kgs of different things everyday from water cans, rice bags, TVs and fridges to fruits from one place to another. Sometimes they might have to pay to their customers if they break the item they're carrying.
Having limited experience and education blocks their progress in life. They risk their life for small and instant money which could help their family and themselves and for the next generation. It's no wonder that many people who do this job develop physical problems which can affect the quality of life of their children as well.
Relaxing on the beach on a sun - chair or in private in a gazebo for an Asian massage is another service supplied at the Sailing Club. 
For further information, do not hesitate to contact the club on the following telephone number (84)(58) 826528 - 524628 or check their website 
I arrived in Saigon safely at 12 am with things still happening as usual. People are so friendly here and make me feel like like I am at home. Went to Pho 24 in Nguyen Du street for my first breaky but it wasn't as good as i thought, anyway, been there done that.
The food in Ho Chi Minh is great: I love the sweetness of the sugar in most dishes. It makes me think about the japanese stuff that Hanoians use in their dishes. People speak English better and funnier, also, in HCMC. My hotel, the Le Le hotel is great, reasonably priced, basic, clean and has friendly staff.
I met my friends, Liz and Pam, at the airport on such a hot day, but they love the heat. It's late winter now in Australia and pouring rain on their stop in Singapore. Pam couldn't believe the traffic and she doesn't think she would be able to drive in Vietnam. This is not a surprise to me at all.
We went to Nam Giao for lunch at 3pm after they had a short nap. This is a Hue restaurant where the food is fabulous and very cheap, located in a small alley belonging to 136/15 Le Thanh Ton Street (08).8250261. They have another restaurant in 662/19 SuVan Hanh Street(08) 8621203. We spent 120,000Vnd including a few drinks. 
The Mekong delta is a very interesting place to visit. The bus took us to Cai Be and Vinh Long, a three hour journey each way, to visit the floating markets and coconut factory which are very interesting. We bought a few things and some candies which costs nothing but are good to try. You can bargain for a cheap price and this is fun! There are heaps of interesting things made from Coconuts, such as toys, rings, bowls, and ashtrays. We had lunch and enjoyed the traditional performance of one little girl and an old dady who sang some very old traditional stories in the Bonsai garden, then we headed back to Saigon. 
After our meal, we went to Saigon Bar for a couple of drinks. This seemed a good bar and they make good Vietnamese coffee and it wasn't as crowded as other bars in Ho Chi Minh City. 
We went back to the Sailing club for more beers and cocktails, took more pictures and listened to the most crap song ever from some American amatuer singer. Suddenly, a moron from somewhere came up on to the stage and sang Hotel California in a terrible voice. Everyone was shouting for him to get off and thank god that was the last of the performances for the night. Hip hop and dance music was turned on by a Vietnamese Dj which was good and everyone started moving their bodies and dancing, except us. What a shame! We were a bit tired and my friends had to wake up early the next day for the boat trip. We left there at about 12am and I couldn't get into my house because my brother couldn't hear me calling him from outside so i took a cab to a hotel and slept there over night. Is that a nite nite? 
I met Liz and Pam at the same place and of course that's the Sailing club at 6pm the next day after their boat trip. They had a good day with a few beers, a few glasses of Vietnamese petro-red wine at the floating bar. They said the food was nice for lunch and everyone had to sing a song from their country with the tour band. We had more beers here and then I took them to try steamed rice pancakes with shrimps, squid, eggs and beanshoots for our meal. We were full for only 30,000Vnd.
After breakfast, we visited the biggest market called Dam market for 45 minutes before going back to the hotel for an afternoon at the Mud baths and hot springs just out of town. 
