Jazz in HanoiTonight calls for a big night out. No reason, just because I have been so practiclal up to now. Freshly showered and totally dressed up, I was ready for a night out on the town.Okay, let me stop to re-define "dressed up". As many of you know who inquired before I left, my streamlined bag of a mere 22 inches long allows me to palck only a select few items. So dressing up meant wearing 1 of the 3 pants/1 skirt I brought, my impractcle sandles...

The Sound of Silence The best way to experience Halong is in the water, rowing a kayak. The peaceful beauty envelopes you and words escape you. The only sounds you can hear are the soft splashes of your paddle piercing the stillness of the water. The kayaks are able to nestle in close to the karsts. I wondered why I hadn't seen any rock climbing with nothing but rock formations surrounding us. Then when we got within arms distance and were able to touch them,...

How long to Ha Long? Up for a 7 am breakfast, I really needed that egg sandwich to last me to Halong Bay. The mini-bus (a van for those of you back home) was driven by Mr. Victory who's real name escapes me, but translated we're told it means Victory. Ausie and Lauren and I are off. "Mr. Victory, how long?" was about all the English he understood, although he was sweet enough to try as he stopped on the side of the road to get Lauren a cold ...

How long to HaLong? Day1: Up for a 7am breakfast I really needed that egg sandwich to last me to Halong Bay. The minibus (a van for those of you back home) was driven by Mr. Victory, who's real name escapes me, but translated we're told it means Victory. "Mr. Victory, how long?" was about all the English he understood, although was sweet enough to try as he stopped on the side of the road to get Lauren a cold coke. Funny enough, she has asked h...

So an Aussie, a Friso-er & a New yorker walk into a bar...Falling asleep and rising to the "meep meep" of the motorcycle horns, this little city of cramped streets and 2 wheel travl sleeps for only several hours a night.After a Vietnamese breakfast of Pho, a beef soup with rice noodles, my first stop was to find Handspan to book my trips to Halong Bay and Sapa. I set off armed only with the map on page 838 in my guide book to wander trhough the stre...