Jam?

My friends and I went to the Jam Club for the first time on a Wednesday a few months ago. It was great as I saw the small hiphop show where customers competed in a dance-off together. The girl who won was a great dancer, looked great and really enjoyed herself. The Jam Club is a new world for me compared to other clubs in Hanoi and is currently one of the most popular clubs for Hanoi's young folk. I wondered whether their parents know where they are, how much they are spending on drink and clothes.

I returned to this club last Friday night with some friends as they wanted to listen to some dance music. 90% of the club's clientele is Vietnamese. My friends had never been to the Jam Club before and they were very surprised about how crowded and crazy it was. This club is kind of a replacement for the New Century Dance Club which used to be in Trang Thi street but was closed down by the police. However, Jam is much much smaller and a bit pricey as well. Beer is 50,000Vnd per bottle, with wine and other liquor over the top as well. But most tables seem to have 2 or 3 different kinds of liquors, from Black Label to Gin.... Where do these kids get the money from? Unluckily for us, the Jam Club has $1 Carlsberg beers every sunday, monday, tuesday and thursday... except on wednesday and weekend!!!

They don't allow anyone to take photos here or bring alcohol in from outside. Damn!

It's Pouring In Hanoi

When it's hot in Hanoi, I always wish for some rain every few days but I should be careful what I wish for! It rained the whole night last night and is still raining12 hours later. This kind of constant heavy rain is too much for this city which has a terrible drainage system. Many streets in Hanoi are now under water and smelly. I decided crazily to go out with one of my friends to look around but was too afraid to take the camera out. I was scared to drop it in the water.

Some friends of mine in Cau Giay district couldn't get out of their houses and 2 friends who are teaching in the Australian English center told me, their school has cancelled all afternoon classes as there is no way to enter or exit. The water level in West Lake is really high and I feel like it would get even higher if it keeps raining.

I finally made it to Hoan Kiem Lake and the water has broken its banks and is flooding over the road. This is the first time I've seen this since I came to Hanoi 7 years ago. There are lots of stupid people trying to ride their bikes very fast, which sprayed dirty water all over my clothes. I shouted at them and they laughed, such idiots. According to the weather forecast, it will keep going during the weekend plus the cold wind from the north. I hope we survive!

These photos are from Hoang Ha, Tin Nhanh Vietnam

Hanoi Autumn

There are hundreds of songs and poems written about Hanoi in autumn, which talk about the beauty of Hanoi and I agree with these poets. Between September and November is the best time to discover Vietnam, especially Hanoi.

Walking along the streets and lakes and you can enjoy breathing in the beautiful sweet flavor of Hoa Sua flower(Hoa Sua means Milk Flower in English) and the willow trees hanging low. Autumn turns Hanoi into a really romantic place. It affects the people, too. Lots of young couples walk together or sit down alongside the lakes to exchange their kisses.

The weather in Hanoi during autumn is cool, a little bit sunny with a nice breeze that makes everyone much more active after the long hot summer. I love hanging around Hoan Kiem Lake and Truc Bach Lake on these days, looking at people and taking some photos or sitting down with a beer waiting for the sunset.

A warning - don't breath the milk flowers in too deeply as this might give you a headache.

Seventeen Saloon

We went to Seventeen Saloon in Hanoi in Tran Hung Dao street a few weeks ago and I think this is the worst bar I've ever been to. I went to Seventeen Saloon bar in Saigon last year and it's fine but their brand in Hanoi is so bad. The music is bad imitations of old pop songs from the west and so loud you can hardly hear what each other is saying.

The staff were really pushy and the prices way out expensive for very small drinks. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes for our drinks which ended up being the wrong order and that meant we had to wait for another 15 minutes for them to come back. We played pool and I took heaps of photos of our friends drinking and being silly. I think that was the best part of the night and we left at about 12 as the waitress arrived with the outrageous bills.

When we left, to make the experience even worse, the parking attendants tried to make us pay for watching our motorbikes. Unbelievable!

Solace Bar

There are hardly any good bars in Hanoi because Hanoi is the capital city and the police are pretty strict. Shops and bars have to close at a certain time. This is a beautiful city of lakes with thousands of beautiful old trees along the streets. Everything seems right here except the entertainment.

We went out with our friends for dinner at the Russian restaurant and most of my friends went to Le Pub but Mark and I went to Solace Bar to meet our Belgium friends, Sarah and Bart for a weekend dance. The bar is nothing special, it also can be called a hole :) but they hired a quite good DJ and very friendly staff which is the most important. This bar used to be Titanic Bar which was also very popular as a late bar for both locals and westerners.

Finally, I can say that I've been there, as I have heard people talk about it so many times. It's located on an old boat and on the side of the Red River, one of the most quiet parts of Hanoi at night. They have a small area as a dance floor which is packed from around 1 am to 4 am. Amazingly there's no police coming to check like the other bars in the old quarter, they must have a really good relationship.

If you are tired of dancing and feel like eating something, go to the left hand side of the bar. There is a pregnant lady who's selling french fries, sausages, hotdogs, sandwiches, and BBQ... She told me that I shouldn't take any photos of the menu because her writing's awful then she laughed out loud. She's a really friendly woman. Check out her food after you've had a few beers.

Solace bar
Phuc Tan area