BeerLao, Cooking, and outdoor adventures!!!!

A glimpse:

Click on the Links below:

Luang Prabang and surrounding villages/countryside

Vientiane and surrounding villages and countryside

The people and life of Laos (a must see)

 
I can say that Laos was a brilliant country. From the hotels, to the pork, to the Eco Tourism adventures, this place took a piece of my heart and will not give it back. I believe if the world rankings came out, then this country would also be one of the biggest beer consumption countries per capita!!!!! I could of easily spent more time here….Perhaps the rest of my life!!!!! I met some great people and had some good times…

Beer Lao, Cooking, and Outdoor adventures can pretty much sum up my lovely time in this up and coming country!!!!

 

 

 

How much does a person need for happiness?

As my main hobby in traveling to countries is to see Markets, Villages and people of Laos, I found all of these people friendly and always wanting to ask questions and understand foreign people.  This place was no different from Vietnam, Cambodia, or any other country I have visited.  The village life was lovely here with people living with very little, enjoying stuff that we take for granted.  Plus it is always a plus when I see pigs running around!!!!

Is village life a perfect example of people living with what they need only.  Do they look for the next i Phone or the next rain for their rice to flourish.  Wants vs. Needs in life.  We all in the first world are guilty of the Wants in life. However will these small village people that KNOW how to live off the land be able to flourish if technology or electricity is taken away one day.  The answer is…..THEY WILL BE THE ONES THAT RULE THE WORLD……

Luang Prabang and surrounding villages/countryside

Vientiane and surrounding villages and countryside

 

Luang Prabang
This could possibly be the most quaint little city in SE Asia. Is dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage site, this place is what I call a quiet Chiang Mai. My time here consisted of Treks in the Mud, Bicycles in the rain about 40 km to remote villages, Kayaking down the Mekong where I said goodbye to one of my cameras (it was the Kayaks fault), and of course a cooking class.
My hotel (Indigo House) was located right upon the main street with the night market in sight. Easily accessible from the airport, and a great café for breakfast or any meal, this hotel is a place people must stay in Luang Prabang.

 

I frequented a restaurant three nights in a row owned by a Canadian man and it had some of the best smoked meats I have had outside of the United States. The Hive has a perfect mix of different styles of foods with a smoked SW USA flare.  Plus the beer is very well priced and has a mix of outside and inside sitting areas.  I would love to see this place during high season as it probably flourishes with all the food and drinks your heart desires!!!!

POOOOOOOOORRRRRKKKKKK!!!!

Memories of Luang Prabang? Pure outdoor activities and villages. I think this is the best way to see surrounding areas. A company that speializes in Eco Tourism that I used is Green Discovery Laos. My guides name for three days was Bounsou.  Absolutely brilliant guy-12 k hike in mud to waterfall, 40 km bike, and 14 k kayak.

 

The cooking class here was completely outdoors and one of the better ones I took.  There was a lot of different varieties in the food and we had a blast with a 12 person class!!!

Vientiane and surrounding villages and countryside

The people and life of Laos (a must see)

Vientiane

Hotel-  Sengtawan Riverside Hotel-Good hotel with view of the Mekong and a nice rooftop bar.
Everyone told me that a day is enough in this capital city of Laos. I will strongly disagree with this. This city has a long way to go in terms of what we would think as a good capital, but don’t we travel to places because they are different. Isn’t this what we do in life? Isn’t life about seeing new things? You can quite easily bike around this city in just a few hours, but there are so many little nooks and crannies to be explored here that it is endless.

Please take a look at Green Laos Discovery!!!!  Brilliant company!!!!
Day 1-Bicycle around the city to see the many different monuments and Cope Center(these are many victims of land mines all over Laos and they already started accepting other disabled people). I also took a quick jaunt to the international school which seems to be a good fit for me. The center arch is a throwback to the Arc d’ Triumph in Paris and you can get a good view of the city from here….

Gallery:

Day 2- 30 km Bike into villages and on muddy trails in the rain. If that was not enough, I decided to also Kayak 16 km down the Mekong River back to Vientiane. The guy I was with was awesome, his name was Noy and was quite the guide and a drinker. He showed me around everywhere, took me to beer and restaurant gardens and was there to lend a helping hand. This was a difficult day to get pics because it literally rained the whole day while I was biking and I had a good plant off my bike after going through some muddy puddles. But spirits were kept high to accomplish this feat that I wanted

Day 3- Cooking Class!!! Why wouldn’t I end this portion of my year off with a cooking class(althought I took one in Singapore). The day was brilliant with a market tour as well as joining two good friends for this class. The market here was good where I actually got time to see how the people function and photograph them. It is brilliant the way they do things as you can see from the pictures:

Luang Prabang and surrounding villages/countryside

 

The people and life of Laos (a must see)

From Angkor Wat to French Colonization to Khmer Rouge Annhialation to New Beginnings on the horizon

For the last ten years, Cambodia was a country that was high of places I wanted to go. I had three main things that I always wanted to do here thus outlining my three goals:

1. Angkor Wat is a wonder of the world I have always wanted to see and the whole area impressed me even more than I dreamed out
2. A village girl from the Koy minority in Cambodia that I supported to go to school for five years as she was from a very poor village. I wanted to finally meet her.
3. The Killing Fields at Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng S21 Prison from the Cambodian Genocide during the Khmer Rouge Era

This country is very poor yet the people were always so friendly and warm and were eager to please. Sometimes it makes me think…..What does a person need to be happy? The answer is very little as many of these people live on dollars or less than a dollar a day, they are still able to live how they need. They have smiles on their faces and perhaps they are hiding something, but they do not complain about what they need. The following is quick blurbs with pics about what I encountered here from travels and speaking to people:

Siem Reap- Angkor Wat, Country Side, and Thy Sothi’s Village

Phnom Pehn-The Country Side, Cooking Class, and The brutal Genocide

Motorbikes, People, Tuk Tuks, and Markets

Examples of what you will see:

This page is to show the different people all over Cambodia.  I had the chance to visit many out of the way villages and go to many markets in order to see the diversity of people and their daily life.  It is amazing how people with so little can be so happy, but as technology slowly creeps into these villages, life will surely change.  Please enjoy these great people!!!!!!!

 

A city coming into its own.  It will take time but spectacular food, bar scene, and restaurants will make this place a great destination for years to come……

THE KILLING FIELDS AND TUOL SLENG PRISON- THE GENOCIDE

Of course one of the saddest moments in the great history of this country was the reign of Pol Pot aka Brother Number One.  This is of course a spillover from the Vietnam war.  His idea of Marxist Communism compared with ideas of the French Revolution Reign of Terror was one of the most dreadful events in history.  Think about if in the United States, 1 in 4 people were killed for being educated, speaking a foreign language or being the head of a religion.   Trying to create a pure Communist system is one thing, but what happened here is another thing. Kids killed in front of their parents and vice versa.   The world would be in uproar, but this happened in the mid to late seventies here.  Walking through the Killing Fields and also Tuol Sleng prison, you get the filling of being transported back to this time.  Both places hit me very hard as I had to cancel the rest of my days activities to be alone.  I have been to concentration camps, Srebrenica in Bosnia, and various other places, but this one was different.  I will leave out the gory details of the stories I heard, but they were horrible.  I did get to meet one of the 7 survivors of the Tuol Sleng prison camp through a translator and he had a certain sadness in his eyes…….This should be a place everyone should visit once in their life to get a feel for something hat happened just 40 years ago…..

On a brighter side, cooking classes are always fun wherever you are at, especially when you know you are starting to excel at making random dishes….The Feel Good Cafe.  Is where you can book this cooking class with an instructor Nara (nara@feelgoodcoffeeshope.com), who really takes his time and knows his dishes.  Very good experience at this class!!!

Of course it is always nice to get out of the city for a day and go to the countryside.  This bike tour done by Grasshopper Adventures, does trips all over asia from a half day to weeks at a time.  It was nice to get out of the city and ride around the dirt roads to see how the people lived and to take local ferries which were nothing more than clunker boats!!!!!

 

A great place to stay- THE SAM BOUTIQUE HOTEL

A quiet and relaxing place to stay with peaceful ambience.

This small boutique hotel is close but not too close to the city center (about a 5 minute tuk tuk ride). The rooms are very spacious and are cleaned perfectly each day. The minibar is stocked with whatever you need and there is liquor bottles and snacks in the room. They refresh two water bottles every day and any toiletries you may need.

The place boasts a nice little pool and garden area where guests can chill out and relax and happy hour specials for drinks are always on the cards every day. You can order food to eat from a local restaurant which they will deliver to you!

The staff is always so cordial and friendly and always willing to give a helping hand in anything you do like organizing day trips and tuk tuk drivers for the whole city and countryside.  A good Tuk Tuk Driver that works for the Hotel is named Prum Vaney, and his email is vannyprum04@gmail.com.  He organizes just about anything you want to do for a low price!!!!

This has been the most relaxing four days of my trip!!!!

 

 

 

Obviously this city is known for Angkar Wat but it boasts some of the most beautiful scenery around Cambodia. The Town is small and very easy to get around with the notorious pub street lined with restaurants and clubs!!!!!  If you want a good and relaxing hotel, then stay at the Landing Gold Villa.  You can read the great review I gave on trip advisor here Landing Gold Villa by Daniel Yenshaw.  And dont forget to ask for Mr. Bean as your Tuk Tuk Driver.  He works wonders!!!!-sr.mrbean@yahoo.com!!!

You have cooking and cocktail classes which are always and enjoyment for me!!!!!

In getting out of the city one day, I visited Preah Vihear Temple which is so close to the Thai border that they have guards stationed around. It actually predates Angkar Wat and is very difficult to get too. It is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva but its real purpose remained unclear.

For many years I supported a girl through an organization called Friendship With Cambodia. She comes from a very small village of a minority people called Koy which have their own language and some of them cannot even speak Khmer. I took some needed supplies to some of the villagers and spoke with her through an English translator I have hired Mr. Chea. She unfortunately because of sickness could not finish school and had to use a lot of money for her family (as her dad died very young) and for medical bills. I am happy to see that she has a beautiful baby and a good husband and is living in her same village. She works for a local NGO that helps keep the traditions alive for her minority group. This probably was one of the most important experiences of my life thus far…..

Then of course you have Angkar Wat area. One of the most awe inspiring structures ever made (could possibly be better than the pyramids. Just walking around these structures, it is amazing of how well they were built and maintained. Enough rambling. Pictures will tell the story……

Mai Chau

Climbing 1000 Steps is not easy in the heat….

Click here for Mai Chau Trek and Bungalow stay and Accomodation

Perched in the mountains of Northern Vietnam, this collection of tiny villages is a thorwback from hundreds of years ago when rice farming ruled the country. Many villagers still use methods used many years ago to cultivate rice and not so much the common ameneites seen today. Bike Riding through the country side and staying in bungalows overlooking the rice fields, gave me a glimpse on how hard but simple the life is for these people.  Walking through the market and climbing up 1000 steps to a cave showed me how much beauty was instilled in this land….

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

 

Saigon (Ho Chih Minh City)

While Hanoi is the quiet big city in Vietnam, Saigon is definitely the crazy older brother (in a good brilliant way).  My first impression on arriving in here was lights, lights and more lights. Cousin David and myself were greeted by the guys that run the Christinas Guesthouse/hotel.  This place is absolutely brilliant.  A common room, a kitchen in each spacious room and enough fruit to feed a small army.  Food stalls and restaurants litter this area, so going hungry here is not an option.  Bars, Clubs are throughout District One area where the Guesthouse is located.  If you want a good atmosphere with great people, then stay here.  I promise you will not be disappointed.  IF YOU LOVE FOOD, THEN LATE NIGHT FOOD STALLS WILL INDULGE YOUR EVERY SENSES…..THE ONE BELOW IS ONE OF THE BEST ONES!!!!

PICS FROM CHRISTINAS SAIGON

I jumped on a free motorbike tour done by university students here that the Guesthouse can arrange and they will take you anywhere you want to go.  I went to the Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum (one of the better Museums I have been to in the world), the first post office in Indo China, and the Basillica of Notre Dame.  As you can see on the video below, the streets are what i call “ORGANIZED CHAOS.”  The website of these tours both in and out of the city is listed here and they work pretty much all on donations for the in city tours-ONE TRIP VIETNAM.

Jump to:

 

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

 

 

Hanoi

This is a beautiful and vibrant city. I enjoyed ten days basing in and out of here on my way to such places as Mai Chau and also Halong Bay.

The city is organized chaos with people coming at you everywhere on bikes and cars which makes for sometimes a very frustrating experience if you are walking along the streets as a tourist. However you must walk with a purpose in order to get to a place and not make eye contact with moving vehicles.

The Old Quarters is the central part of the city, with many restaurants and bars for locals and tourists alike. There is place known by the westerners as “Beer Corner”, in which they put many stools outside and you just order beers and finger foods. When the police show up, they just move all of the stools inside and everyone stands and drinks.

The link below will enable you to meet up with a local university student. They have different types of tours and are all free of charge. A great way to see the city with a little bit of history.  The two tours I did was just walking around to the HCM Mausoleum and then a street food tour on a scooter, which gave me a taste of the crazy life of a scooter.

Free walking or motorbike tours done by university students

Where to stay?  Eclipse Legend Hotel

A great tour company to use while staying in Hanoi is Evan Journey:

Evan Journey Facebook Page

Evan Journey Website

It is owned by a girl named Mien who I met while staying at the hotel below.  Her command of English is excellent and will always work to find you the best deals on different tours you can take.  They can accommodate your whole trip in any part of Vietnam and will always be happy to assist you with a friendly smile.  If you are pushed for time while staying in Vietnam or just do not feel like booking stuff yourself, please feel free to click on the above links and you will be helped with anything your heart desires!!!!!

My review of Eclipse Legend Hotel on Booking and Trip Advisor:

Jump to:

 

 

• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

At first glace this place looked like it would be very boring.  After a day, I quickly changed my disposition. This was the old Imperial Capital of Vietnam and the structures of the Emperors just outside of the city are amazing…..Couple that with the countryside and a quiet beach with all the seafood you can possibly eat….This makes for a very fun time.

The food was equally as good as as I ate at a Class A Restaurant that was cheap called Risottos.  This place has just about anything you want to eat from American, to Italian, to Traditional Vietnamese at a very affordable price.

Other food I ate was at the beach, which cost me a whopping 24 dollars with 8 beers included and a bucket of ice:

Also I went to a little known restaurant with some local friends that had goat cooked every which way you can imagine.  Truly heaven on earth!!!!!

Four Seasons Hotel

The hotel I stayed at was very small (11 Rooms), but honestly, do you want a big fancy hotel?  Or rather a hotel that makes you feel at home bringing you a fresh wet cloth when you enter from being in the sweltering heat and greeting you with a glass of fresh fruit juice?  Couple that with great and kind service of the staff, this was a hotel that was amazing and that I would actually live at!!!!!!

The best and finniest guide!!!!!! His name is simply TY

This guy who has his company listed below took me around to site after site including the DMZ area overnight and too me out to eat (see seafood and goat above), and then took me into his house to have dinner.  His website and email are listed below, and if you come to the Hue area, his English is awesome, he is funny, and very patient.  he may very well be your man to book your motorcycle trek!!!!!!  I can honestly now call him and his girlfriend my new friends!!!!!

Please email Ty for a tour:

Email Ty

Website of tours they do.  Or custom made tours if you please:

www.vietnammotortrail.com

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best and finniest guide!!!!!! His name is simply TY

This guy who has his company listed below took me around to site after site including the DMZ area overnight and too me out to eat (see seafood and goat above), and then took me into his house to have dinner.  His website and email are listed below, and if you come to the Hue area, his English is awesome, he is funny, and very patient.  he may very well be your man to book your motorcycle trek!!!!!!  I can honestly now call him and his girlfriend my new friends!!!!!

Please email Ty for a tour:

Email Ty

Website of tours they do.  Or custom made tours if you please:

www.vietnammotortrail.com

THE DMZ!!!!

I decided to go off on a limb and stay an extra day around Hue in order to view all of the sites around the DMZ and more.

We started off on our 390 KM on a motorbike journey heading out of Hue and going to the Vịnh Mốc Tunnels.  Why did I find these tunnels interesting?  They had a small hospital to deliver babies along with family rooms where people lived for long periods of time.

We then headed toward where the DMZ between the north and south was and I got to see the bridge that became so popular with different colors for the two sides.  Brothers were fighting against brothers, whole families separated in the blink of an eye.  The museum here was small but entertaining and the reunification monument is wonderful.   We then headed toward the cemetery to see where hundreds of soldiers are buried (this was a well kept cemetery.) As we drove up the mountain, i noticed how luscious and green this countryside was and how friendly the people were.  It makes me sad to realize what went on here 40 years ago and what the people endured.  We finally in the late afternoon arrived in Khe Sahn were the famous US military post was, where we spent the night, had some great chicken and rice fried and prepared for the Ho Chi Minh Trail the next day!!!!!

The next day was a lot of driving as we went to the Khe Sahn was memorial followed by heading onto the highway which once occupied the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  Pictures are worth a thousand words here as the countryside was amazing and we stopped once to talk to some villagers from a small village.  It makes me happy to realize that even without a lot of material goods and simple living, these people are still very happy and the kids are even more happier.  Thank you Ty…this was a great trip!!!!

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

COULD VIETNAM RIVAL OTHER COUNTRIES FOR BEST FOOD?

The answer is a resounding YES!!!!  As with Ecuador you have mountains and oceans and farmland all within a few hours drive from each other which makes for a variety of dishes!!!!  My top countries rarely ever change for my like of dood!!!! In no particular order:   Greece, South Korea , Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, Hungary, Macedonia, Lithuania, Germany.  I think it is safe to say that Vietnam has moved into this list and may even be the best of all these countries (purely in my opinion but many will agree.).  Why?  You got a mix of everything, Pork, Beef, Seafood, Goat, Lamb, Spices, Salad, Appetizer, Soups, etc all rolled into one (and dont forget the spring rolls).  To top it off, you have many different local beers to choose from as well as wines and liquors.   No wonder why I ate four or five times a day!!!!!!  At the same time it rarely ever gets you totally waistline full unless you gorge yourself!!!!!!  This is a gastronomical delight!!!!!  FOR SOME REASON I LOST 9 LBS WHILE HERE, EATING EVERYTHING IN SITE.  MUST BE ALL THE CHEMICALS AND FROZEN FOOD IN THE REST OF THE WORLD!!!

PICTURES SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!!!!

 

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people

 

 

 

Motorbikes are a big part of this culture as most families own at least one if not two or three.  The streets are jam packed with them zooming past you all the time.  If you dont watch out, you may just get hit by one!!!!

This society somehow functions on the organized chaos of motorbikes and cars, with different beeps to let people know when to pass or to get out of the way.  This organized chaos works perfectly as people are extremely polite to one another (unlike Cairo where they are malicious).

I even got to ride one a little which I saw just how easy it was (in somewhat of a controlled open road).  Organized Chaos does work here, but if you insert this in many other cultures it would turn into just plain chaos far being removed form organized!!!!

I loved the people here, as they were friendly, hardworking, polite and always there when you needed them.  There were so many different types of faces and people doing work that i ran across that it was hard to choose.  But here are some of the best pictures that I took.  Notice the hard working nature and/or happy faces.  They know how to balance out everything here!!!!

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The food

 

 

 

 

I stayed at the Aurora Riverside Hotel for three nights and was very impressed.  Not only did they change my reservation for me, but they upgraded me to a massive suite seen here:

This Suite coupled with 29 dollars a night, a restaurant, bar, pool, and overlooking a lovely rice field made this stay enjoyable.  They were also very efficient in getting all my stuff booked.  Please stay here if you come to Hoi An!!!

I pretty much just lounged around here the first day.  Met a friend at the beach as well as going to get something to eat and seeing the night market and the old quarters by night:

And then there are the local markets with fresh everything!!!!  No wonder why I lost weight here!!!!!

Another Cooking Class?  Yea I cant get enough of them.  This was at an herbal farm where they basically grow all their own crops.  I had a private tutor and I did not disappoint.  I made four dishes-Spring Rolls, Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp and Calamari, Mackerel with tomato sauce in banana leaf, and Vietnamese Pancake!!!!  I loved it!!!!  If you are ever in Hoi An, it would be to your benefit to click here Tra Que Water Wheel, and take one of their many excursions they offer. Where else will you get to hang out in a 300 year old village? I promise you will not be disappointed!!!

My Son is an old Hindu Temple that dates back to ancient times of The Champa Empire and was finally annexed into Vietnam during the French Colonial period.  It is a Unesco World Heritage site and suffered heavy damage during the Vietnam War….

The Marble Mountains is a series of Buddhist Caves and shrines.  Some of the most impressive I have ever seen (next to Myanmar).  All of the mountains in the area are made of marble and some of the most popular in the world and Vietnam as people send them back to wherever they live…..

 

 

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

 

Ha Long Bay

These set of islands that graze the north western part of Vietnam are covered by luscious vegetation. This landscape dots the ocean like pieces of a puzzle that once all fit together millions of years ago. We were on a boat for a night which was a rather luxurious boat (insert website of company), along with ten course meals and plenty of wine and buckets of mixed drinks. The night was complete with Karaoke for a few hours until we got cut off…..

The next day after visiting some caves, the boat dropped us off at what I call The Garden of Eden. It was a set of Bungalows perched into one of the islands and built into the mountain. It was simply a time of rest and relaxation. Playing Frisbee in the water and hunting for clams for dinner was the fun to be had, along with the rest and relaxation on the beach. The night was completed with a Vietnamese style Grill out with all fresh sea food and pork!!!!!!

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

 

ONE TRIP VIETNAM-Does a great trip to the Cu Chi tunnels on motorbike with stops along the way.  The Cu Chi Tunnels are what the Viet Cong used to annihilate the Americans.  After being in this area for a couple hours crawling thru tunnels and looking at the traps they would hide, it is a miracle of how a bunch of peasant farmers would think of this.  But they are the ones used to living off the land and do not need machines to do anything.  Some of the most impressive were the women fighters who registered kill after kill.  Some girls probably no older than their late teens!!!!!  Humidity in the tunnels was over 90%.  Great Day!!!!!

Jump to:

 

• Hanoi
• Mai Chau
• Ha Long Bay
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
• Hue
• DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
• Hoi An
• The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
• The food

 

 

 

Communist?Socialist?Capitalist?  It really does not matter because this country is beautiful, friendly and cheap!!!

Well from being here for an extended amount of time, one thing is certain and that is this place is one of the most friendliest countries I have ever been too in my life. Long forgotten are the days of the Vietnam War . This new era has brought in a feeling of tranquility, serenity, and hospitality for tourists and locals alike.

The cities are hectic, jammed with cars and motorbikes with impatient honking, but it is not the same as other big cities as there is not a feeling of hostility or anger. The honks are simply to let people know to be careful or to move a little faster.   People sit outside shops and enjoy each others company while having some coffee or tea and a bowl of noodles.   Some people refer to this country as “The Street Food Capital of the World.”

The countryside is teemed with green vegetation as far as the eyes can see. Shacks offer food for people passing by for less than a dollar for a giant bowl of duck or foul soup.   Some people may think it is dirty to have animals run around in the streets or around public places , but this is the sustenance that people live off of. Would you want your chicken locked up in a cage or running freely? Cows roaming freely on the side of the highway? No problem, they don’t need to be kept in a pen or cage….

The countryside is similar to what it probably was hundreds of years ago, with villagers out in the rice fields all day long. Many houses have chickens, ducks, cows, water buffalo’s and pigs running around them all day long. There is always a certain feeling of a more relaxed lifestyle of these villagers, but as technology creeps in, so will the problems in the future…..

1. Hanoi
2. Mai Chau
3. Ha Long Bay
4. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
5. Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels
6. Hue
7. DMZ and HCM trail by motorbike
8. Hoi An
9. The Vietnamese Motorbike Diaries and people
10. The food

 

Examples of what you will see: