Truc Bach Lake

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

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!!!!!

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Homemade

When the word homemade is used it usually refers to delicious food made at home. In Vietnam, this word can be used in many more contexts because we are quite ingenious in making and repairing things at home. I mean, have you ever heard of a homemade car????

Occasionally I see these kinds of cars around Hanoi and it makes me laugh. They look so cute but are definitely not safe for driving. I am not sure if the goverment actually allows them to be driven on the roads or not. To make these cars, Vietnamese people use the machines of different cars or motorbikes and they shape a new body or frame around the engine and turn it into a car somehow. Of course these cars don't have modern features like air-conditioning or CD players but I wouldn't be surprised if someone is thinking about how to include them. I don't know how fast these cars go but the man I saw was driving it quite fast. At least it was keeping up with the motorbikes. I'm not sure how it would cope in an accident but maybe better than modern cars because it's actually made of steal! Cars are becoming a way of life in Hanoi now but I'm not sure if these models are going to catch.

What do you think?

Nha Trang, June 09

The Sea Festival is one of the biggest events in Nha Trang which happens every two years. It's a really big time and attracts a lot of visitors to Nha Trang. Most hotels put their prices up unbelievely high. That's not the only thing that's high. The weather is a bit too hot for me, hot enough to burn my feet as I walked along the beach. While I was there last week, it was about 37 degrees everyday but luckily there is a sea breeze so that it's not too bad.

My brother's family and I went to the evening fair one night to have a look. It is right on the beach with numerous stalls and activities. The noise are from all the different speakers around with different music, sale girls voices, together with the crowds made it a bit tiring for me. I lost interest after 30 minutes wandering around the fair. I don't think I'll go to these fairs anymore as it's so boring and most of the stuff on sale is old fashioned and ugly.

I missed trying a bowl from the biggest noodle soup show during the festival. This is the first time and a record for Viet Nam for a single shop making a huge pot of pho, enough to serve almost 700 people. Pho Hong is one of the popular noodle shops in Nha Trang. There were also plenty of exhibitions on the beach especially painting and photography shows. I spent over an hour looking at the paintings, which were indeed great stuff.

During the day, I went to the Lousiane Brewhouse for swimming and relaxing, drinking some house-brewed beer and reading a bit. I started trying to read more in English last month and it has opened up my mind heaps, a new world for me and for my imagination.

As usual, I went to eat all of my hometown's local specialties for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. I just love these dishes and am amazed that they are so cheap. The most expensive dish I had was only 25,000Vnd, which is the same as what I pay for a bowl of noodles in Hanoi or Saigon. I will write about these dishes in the next post. Hope everyone is having a great weekend !!!