Apr
We left Sa Pa by overnight train and arrived back in Hanoi at 4:30am. We took a taxi to our hotel only to find the security bars lowered and all lights off. Hmmmm… we were told someone would be there to let us in. In any event, we slept well on the train, and actually it was a good chance to be among the early risers of Hanoi.
Hanoi starts bustling as early at 5am with swarms of motorbikes on the streets, housewives raiding markets for fresh fruit and vegetables, but most striking were the morning gymnastics at Hoan Kiem lake. In every public space around the lake, hundreds of women practice aerobics to high tempo techno music while men stretch and perform martial arts. As we admired this energetic and coordinated display of routine, we were approached by one of the street vendors. She was a small, middle-aged lady carrying a large basket of bread and cheese for sale – clearly designed to appeal to the many European tourists. We hadn’t eaten yet, so we purchased some bread and cheese, after which she said: “I cafe lady.” We looked puzzled at her basket to see where she might have concealed her brew, but to no avail. She continued to gesture that she had coffee, so we said we’d take two cups. She smiled, and motioned for us to make space on the bench between us, where she placed down her basket, and then hightailed it across the street and around the corner out of our sight. Amused, we waited. About five minutes later, she reappeared from around the corner, dodging motorbikes across the street with each hand wrapped around a glass of sweet milk coffee! Out of breath and with a big smile she handed us our badly needed cup of morning joe.
Vietnam was a bitter-sweet experience. Our trip to Sa Pa was a great adventure and a fantastic way to experience the “real” people and culture. The experience with the “cafe lady” by the lake in Hanoi was a touching example of Vietnamese hospitality. However, the constant bustling of touters and vendors and incessant honking of horns soon became annoying. It felt at times like the Vietnamese would only approach Western tourists to take advantage of them. One of the best examples of this is the guide book boys who would approach with a basket of Lonely Planet guidebooks appearing to sell tourist information. The would say: “you buy book.” Then before you could even tell them “no,” they would follow by saying, almost under their breath: “you buy marijuana, you buy opium?” To your relief or dismay, we never did.
We left Hanoi Sunday and arrived in Phuket, Thailand. We’re both very excited about the beach and SCUBA. Pete will start his Open Water Diver certification today with our local friends and dive instructors Miz & Thien at a nearby pool. Tomorrow Pete will graduate from the pool and we’ll dive together off the boat at nearby Phuket dive sites
We left Hanoi 2 days ago on an overnight train bound for Lao Cai, in northern Vietnam. It’s only about a 300km trip, but over old, war-torn tracks, the train can only travel at 30-40 km/h, so the trip takes a good 8-9 hours. We shared our sleeper cabin with 2 Brits who traveled with their own bottle of cheap rum, but we all managed to get some sleep after chatting and watching a movie on my MacBook!
About 230 years ago, during the early Rattanakosin period, Bangkok was established as the capital of what is now known as Thailand. The Chao Phraya river and its canals were the most important means of transportation and trading during that time, not unlike the canals of Venice. In fact, Bangkok was also known as the Venice of the East.
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We found some good prospects for dining chairs but not such a good deal that its worth spending the time and effort to export it. We also went to what is one of the largest markets in the world, the 
– May 11, 2008