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hanoi living

i arrived in vietnam with the same lack of planning that now prefixes my arrival in most countries. i show up with a rudimentary understanding of a few key words, knowledge of where to find the first place i should change money, and how to arrive at my chosen hostel.

the rest of my planning? it's done on the fly, talking with other travellers and piecing together an itinerary based on recommendations, combined with the info in my guidebook that i've finally gotten around to reading.

as a result, i've been drifting around hanoi seeing the interesting and unusual. besides getting a great haircut for 2-3 USD from a masked barber, i started to slowly get a handle on vietnamese history as well.

on a whim after talking with some other travellers, i bought a ticket for a 3-day tour around Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island, which should ensure ample supplies of both stunning limestone cliffs and crowds of monkeys. time to get up early tomorrow morning for the bus to halong bay and dust off my kayaking skills!

Comments (2)

Tara Kirchner:

Andy, Halong Bay was great. The food was unbelievable on the boat I was on, and the view not to be missed. If you are going back through Hanoi, try stopping at Dara restaurant near the Hotel Metripole for Hue cuisine. Also, don't miss the Old French Quarter, have a bia hoy on a short plastic stool for me.

andy:

tara, i totally agree on ha long bay, and i appreciate the tips on hanoi!

while the restaurant might be out due to my recent run-in with food poisoning (eating simple foods for a day or two), i don't think that excludes a nice cold bia hoy before i leave hanoi to head further south. ;)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on June 17, 2006 10:04 PM.

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