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POR FIN HANOI

Hanoi, Vietnam


Hola a todos los que nos estais siguiendo. Por fin hemos llegado a Hanoi, Vietnam. Lo primero que hemos tenido que hacer es empezar a luchar con todos los taxistas que quieren llevarnos por un modico precio hasta la ciudad, Treinta dolares cuando en mini bus cuesta 2 por persona. Lo mejor cambiar rapido a la moneda nacional, sino en el cambio redondean hacia muy arriba.
Otra cosa que es indispensable aprender rapido es a la hora de cruzar las calles. Muchas motos, muchos coches y rayas pintadas en el suelo que no significan nada de nada. Las motos tienen la ventaja de que pueden circular en todas direcciones y despues bicis y triciclos. Una autentica locura. Asi que uno debe de mirar hacia adelante sin fijarse en el trafico y comenzar a andar. En poco tiempo uno cruza la calle sin saber como, sano y salvo, sin un rasguño. Parece mentira pero es asi.
El Principal problema a la hora de sacar pastuqui en los cajeros, o te deja mas de cierta cantidad asi que te cobran por cada vez que sacas dinerito.
Ahh por fin conocimos los monzones. Desde las cinco de la tarde no ha parado de llover y esto va para largo, puede que toda la noche. Y lo mejor para pasear por la calle, chanclas, pantalon corto y camisetita. El chubasquero esta bien, pero acabas empapado de sudor.

Si todo va bien, mañana recorreremos la city, veremos el teatro de las marionetas sobre el agua y acabaremos de concretar el crucerito de tres dias por la bahia de Ha Long.
Al cambio la verdad poco dinero en euros. Despues a Hue y de alli a Ho Chi MI
Hemos podido degustar las primeras piñas. Deliciosas, la primera merienda cena. Yo me decante por unos rollitos de primavera y tofu frito. La verdad que muy bueno todo. Noemi prefirio un arroz con marisco.

Nos hemos despedido con trsiteza de Hong Kong. Despues de tantos transitos, hemos acabado por tenerle cariño. Nos movemos como pececillos en el agua y cada vez descubrimos cosas nuevas.

Hemos acabado por ser expertos en el manejo de los palillos, ya sabemos como se abren las bolsas y como se agarran entre los dedos, ahora solo hace falta aprender a coger la comida.
Noemi ya se dio por vencida de que el ingles es importante para hablar con ingleses. En asia, depende donde uno este, el ingles es como multiplicarse por cero.

Los que conoceis el ingles sabeis cual es la diferencia entre DUCK y DOG verdad?????
Ahora imaginad que los chinos entienden algo asi como DUOC. Noemi estuvo apunto de hacer el pato para entenderse y poder comer un plato de comida. No quiero verla el dia que pida cerdo o peor aun si decide comer serpiente, no se si se arrastrara o sacara la lengua. Puede que acabemos en comisaria.
Al final creo que era pato, aunque un pato bien grande.
Isabel si lees esto ten cuidado con Noemi, no lleves mas a Frank, creo que se esta aficinando a toda clase de animales en la comida y un taco de DUOG con chilito creo que lo pasara bien.

Si alguno de iberia esta por ahi, oye que estuve expiando al CARGOLUX y los chavales lo hacen bien, que se esfuerzan y bueno sale en hora.

Campos como va todoooo, no se nada de ti. No he podido escribir mucho. Fijo (DAVID), siento mucho que no puedas venirte, pero si es justito. Ya te contare por si quieres echartelo solo un dia de estos. A ver si aparece Bravo por aqui, y el resto tambien.
Como esta el payaso ARCAS. Bueno de este rajare un dia de estossss.

Chuspyyy, Chuspyyy, el que cocina comida mexicana soy yo, no Noemi, asi que no seas pelotaaaa.

A mi Familia que todo va bien. Muchos besos. Al resto que espero que escribais pronto.
Si todo va bien mañana espero estar algo mas inspiradillo para poder contaros mas cosas, mas historias y como le cambian a uno las peqiueñas cosas.

Casi hara un mes este viernes de viaje, ya hemos pasado la fase de los 21 dias a los que estabamos acostumbrados como vacaciones.
La verdad,, es como si llevaramos tiempo fuera. Creo que al final lo duro sera la vuelta. Uno poco a poco se va acostumbrando a este ritmo de vida.

La primera impresion de Vietnam: BUENA. Ya os iremos explicando.

Un abrazo y besos a todos vosotros, gracias por estar ahiiiii

Carlos



permalink written by  Noemi y Carlos on June 18, 2008 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: NUESTRO VIAJE POR ASIA Y ALGO MAS...
tagged Hanoi

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PARRILLADA EN HANOI

Hanoi, Vietnam


Hola a todos,
Pense en ponerles unas fotos de lo que ayer vi en esta ciudad, pero lo de esta noche...no ha tenido nombre! El Carlitos y yo hemos dado una cena...señores...Que cena! Nos han puesto como un kilo de carne, con su tomatito bien rojo, su cebollita en rajitas, un chilito rojo picadito en rodajas, con sal y limoncito; donde se remojaba la carne que ibamos asando en nuestra propia parrilla, ahi, a un ladito...como que no quiere la cosa. mmmm
Bueno, ya solo me faltaron las tortillas de maiz para completar la escena.

Hoy hemos dado un paseillo Carlitos y yo por la pequeña Hanoi, ciudad preciosa, pequeñita y con un monton de chirinquitos para cenar que daba gusto! mmmm
Hemos comido rambutan, una fruta que no habiamos visto ni el europeo este que tengo a mi lado ni yo.
Luego hemos asistido a un espectaculo de marionetas en el agua, que me encanto! Antes, claro, nos hemos sentado en un chiringuito callejero a comer cerdo asado con unos noodles....picantito...que bueno esta todo esto! Me quedaria a vivir aqui.
Por cierto, Carlos y yo estabamos sacando dinero, cuando de repente se ve una rubia cruzar la calle, con un vestido de satin que nada mas le cubria lo necesario, saludando a todo el mundo a su paso, como si conociera a los del tuck tuck (bicitaxis), a los empleados de las tiendas, a los de los puestos callejeros; bueno, al final ella se puso detras de nosotros para sacar dinero, y yo, como siempre, con una mirada matadora le dije en ingles que nosotros estabamos ahi para sacar dinero, que se hiciera a un lado. Bueno, resulta que la chica con una sonrisota de oreja a oreja me dice que perfecto, se hace a un lado; y cuando nos escucha a Carlos y a mi hablar se mete en la conversacion. Era española. Lleva viviendo en Hanoi 4 años, tiene 2 hijos, y tiene...su propia tienda?? nnooooooooooooo....Tiene su propia fabrica de ropa. Ha vivido en un monton de lugares de España, en Brasil y bueno...en Vietnam. Hacia mucho que no veia a un español/a mantener una sonrisa de felicidad y satisfaccion. Me dejo muy impresionada, no sabia casi nada de la situacion en Europa y definitivamente se declaro, como minimo unas mil veces, totalmente feliz. Feliz en todos los sentidos.
Me da mucho gusto que haya gente en este mundo que se sienta asi.

En fin, cosas del directo, como dice Carlos.

Ya me despido porque son las 11 de la noche y mañana tenemos que levantarnos a las 5 de la mañana, nos vamos 3 dias y 2 noches a la Bahia de Halon, vamos hacer un crucero (guuullpppp a ver si no me mareo) siempre lo paso mal: en el coche, en el bus y peor en el avion! Siempre parezco un pato mareado, y encima termino vomitando al Carlos! jajajaja como me paso hace algunos meses volviendo a Madrid jijijiji
Bueno, tranquilos, no le hare pasar ridiculo al Carlitos, me tomare...bueno, me dopare de pastillas. A ver si me entero de algo! jajajajjaja

Un beso a todos!!!

Y muchas gracias por las felicitaciones de mi cumple!! Siguen llegando!!

Noemi

permalink written by  Noemi y Carlos on June 19, 2008 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: NUESTRO VIAJE POR ASIA Y ALGO MAS...
tagged Hanoi

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City of the Soaring Dragon

Hanoi, Vietnam


Hanoi is the capital and also the largest city in northern Vietnam with 7 million people. Ruthlessly crowded with motorbikes, people and goods-for-sale along the tiny winding roads, my first impression was that this city was completely nuts. Coming from the jungles and mountains, I felt overwhelmed at first by the congestion, claustrophobia, and from crossing the street even in this super-dense city. Nor would it be considered a particularly pretty city; there aren't many parks and exhaust fumes tend to discolor most of the buildings, and the weather is gray cloudy most of the year.

Things are even CHEAPER in Hanoi though, than from the rest of the cities I have been in thus far! I am constantly amazed to see how cheap things are and am just surprised they can go lower than Bangkok or Chiang Mai. DVD's were only $1.75 and entire shows or sets of movies could be purchased for $5. Movies and TV shows are categorized completely differently than they would be in a Blockbuster or Best Buy back in America, they are organized by actor, director and show, not by genre. There are set compilations offering all movies by a certain actor such as Brad Pitt, or all the seasons of The Simpsons in a little box. And yes, they all work.

Our Pacific Discovery group also had the privilege of visiting both the 'Temple of Literature' and a prison used for the imprisonment of American's during the Vietnam War. The Temple of Literature was slightly interesting, it was Vietnams first university and founded almost 1000 years ago. A little band played ethnic Vietnamese music which made it worth it for my easily-bored self. The prison was more interesting, it housed John McCain during his time as a P.O.W. The walls and the cells looked haunting (pictures to come soon, bad internet here...) and the aura of the atrocious conditions made everyones mood very weary. The text along the walls explaining both the French treatment of Vietnamese prisoners and the Vietnamese treatment of American prisoners painted completely different stories, and was obviously mostly propaganda. I somehow doubt the Americans received 3 healthy meals a day and mostly played chess, basketball, and helped plant trees.

The Vietnamese tend to like Americans, and I have not encountered any situation during my time here to suggest otherwise. The population is mostly young and under 35, and American's were part of a long chain of attackers in the quest for a sovereign nation including France, Japan, and China. By the time we had come along, war was a very ingrained part of their world. Their war was not about communism, as we believed, but about independence and local rule. Ho Chi Minh simply chose communism because it provided the most distinct roadmap for economic, social, and political processes for the founding of an entirely new nation. The Vietnamese did not hold to any ideals other than a Vietnamese nation, communism was an easy path of action and nationalism to rally people under. The Communist experiment failed by the mid to late 80s in Vietnam, perhaps quickened by the West's embargo against the nation. It now seems to be a very capitalist society, allows foreign ownership of businesses, houses, etc, and actively courts foreign investment for factories. Its chief export is oil, and is the 3rd largest rice-exporter, just behind the US.

I will post more analysis of the situation here in my next post, when I am able to upload more pictures. I am currently in Saigon (in the south) and my next post will be from Cambodia. All the best!

The Lego House in Hanoi

People park their motorbikes on the sidewalk so most of the time you have to walk on the street.

A woman at the market wearing a funny t-shirt "Hunk if you (heart) my body!" They sell alot of t-shirts and jeans with misspelled words or meaningless English on them which usually turns out to be pretty funny.

A FOUR story KFC in Hanoi. Order on the first floor, recieve food on second, sit on 2, 3 or 4. Symbolically American food chains such as McDonald's or 7-11 haven't been allowed in Vietnam because of the war, although even these restrictions are starting to loosen as time goes by




permalink written by  JohnJack_Crestani on February 27, 2009 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: I Meet the SouthEast
tagged Temple, Vietnam, Hanoi, JackCrestani, Johncrestani, Prison and Johnmccain

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Hanoi Value Menu

Hanoi, Vietnam


Ahhh, Hanoi. This is the Asia everyone dreams about when they think of modern Asia. Motorbikes everywhere, dodging traffic, jumping over heaping piles of trash, and swerving from spitballs, Hanoi has it all. Residents of Hanoi were smart to leave intact the remnants of the French colonization period. The French architecture clashed in a beautiful way against the tropical climate. Everywhere people have plants in their apartments that adds a tropical vibe to the city. Another thing to mention are the power lines that blanket the city. Apparently, North Vietnam has not been introduced to underground fiber-optic cable.
After arriving in Hanoi last Monday we decided to get out of the city and trek to the Gulf of Tonkin and visit Halong Bay. There are close to 2,000 islands in this archipelago. It's a UNESCO world heritage site for a reason. It's easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Hopefully, we can get some pictures up in the next couple of days. The first night we cruised through the islands on a boat complete with a dining area and cabins on the lower level. We went to a cave, went kayaking, then anchored nearby to stay the night.
The next day we went to an island where we set off biking. Shortly after we started I helped push a broken down truck filled with sand along with maybe 8 other Vietnamese people to the side of the road. The island we stayed at had been a popular target for aerial bombing campaigns during the Vietnam war. We climbed to an area where North Vietnamese kept watch for bombing raids that were flying to Hanoi. There we had great views of the bay. Unfortunately, the top was infested with mosquitoes so we didn't stay long. Our guide that led us to the top of the mountain might have been a Viet Cong soldier himself. He was genuinely nice to us and the rest of the group. Our other tour guide told us that the North Vietnamese like Americans and don't hold the war against us because of all the protests they saw during the war. That could be true but he might have just been angling for a tip.
After the strenuous hike with our Swedish companions we biked back to the boat. The group that was on the tour with us ended up being very nice. There were 3 Swedish people that were extremely nice. Two of them were a couple in their 60's that were retired teachers. Even at their age they were able to hike a mountain that was difficult for Rachel and I. I hope were in that good of shape when I'm that age.
Then we went to a beach bungalow where we would spend the night. We went kayaking again for a bit but we were too tired to spend much time on the water after the exhausting hike. After a low key evening we retired but not before putting up a mosquito net.
Early the next morning, we rode on a rickety boat a good distance away to meet up with the rest of our tour group. They welcomed us back and we crept back to Halong City. I didn't expect much since we went on a tour group but I'm sure it will be a highlight of our trip.
Yesterday we got shutout of the museums since it was a Monday so we bummed around, took a walk by one of the lakes and caught up on the internet. I almost got burned by flying sparks from a welder on the sidewalk and then we had some great pizza at an Italian restaurant next to Hoam Kiem lake in the Old Quarter.
Last night we hopped on a night train to Sapa and arrived here a couple of hours ago. The touts that were waiting outside were some of the pushiest, nastiest salespeople we've encountered so far. One nice foreigner told us the right price to pay for a bus to Sapa and one of the people slammed his shoulder and yelled at him. We got a hotel room with a balcony and an amazing view. It's not called Mountain View hotel for nothing. It was raining here but the sun is starting to shine so were going to go tour the city. Peace.

Zack

permalink written by  zachel on March 30, 2009 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Zack and Rachel's Asian Chronicles
tagged HalongBay, Hanoi and Sapa

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I'm in Vietnam

Hanoi, Vietnam


I'm in a restaurant, named Kiti restaurant. I'm relaxing after wandering on Old Quarter Street in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi is very speacial. Names of streets is so same same, it's difficult for me to remember all of them. May be I remember best is this street which the Kiti restaurant located in, it's Hanghom. I have been to here for a week and discover Hanoi and its secret. There's the great anniversary of 1000 years Thanglong Hanoi next time, in the fact that it's left a several days. It's really exciting to travellers like us. Let's wait!

permalink written by  wonderstone on September 24, 2010 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Hanoi, Vietnam
tagged Restaurant, Hanoi and OldQuarterStreet

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The Old Quarter Street - Hanoi

Hanoi, Vietnam


It was a bad day, I wandered on The Quarter Old Street and Hoan Kiem Lake all afternoon. On the late afternoon, I wanted to find a quite place for my dinner but I changed my idea when seeing Kiti Restaurant on Hang Hom street. There was a buffet party in the restaurant, and so many people joined, they were funny to talk together. I wanted to join it because I thought I should have change my bad feeling. I came in and joined the party but I didn't talk to anyone, I only listened to their talking and I felt more funny. I called one big beer, after two beer, both drunk and saw everyone telling together. There was a waiter coming me and asked what I needed and she invited me try some dishes in the buffet party. At the time, I was hungry and I wanted to try some dishes although I didn't have mood to eat.
The girl catched talk to me, she both asked how I felt the dishes and told me about mean of dishes. I felt more funny and felt dishes delicious. Then I ate quite much. After the buffet party in Kiti, I came back home with good mood.
It was surprised that I had only to pay 200,000 VND for my pax. It was so cheap with so many dishes.
Wandering on The Old Quarter Street and enjoining the party in Kiti Restaurant helped me come back. I felt well and smiled with everybody, everything was easier to me. So more and more I love Hanoi and The Old Quarter Street where I am living near.


permalink written by  doublering on November 15, 2010 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: The Old Quarter Street - Hanoi
tagged Street, The, Vietnam, Restaurant, Hanoi, Quarter, Old and Kiti

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