Perfume Pagoda Sleeping on a night train, the 9 hour trip from Sapa - Hanoi passed quickly and at a mere $16, it cost the same as a hotel room for the night. Arriving at 5am, the central market was the only thing hopping. But it was a BUZZ. Motorbikes stacked 4 feet tall with freshly picked cauliflower, tomatoes, and eggs. Every food you could imagine. This is when the restaurants all buy their fresh ingredients for the day's menu. In the faint light of a bar...

Let's Eat.You'd never believe it but the most popular question I'm getting on email is "what kind of food are you eating?" Meals are always an adventure here. And one I've found to be wonderfully different than back home.First off, I eat breakfast every day. No bagel on the run here. I mean a full meal. Although on occasion I have had a Western style breakfast of eggs and toast w/ jelly and butter, I much prefer the Pho (pronounced Foe)....

The Jetty StarAs the sun set over the Lake in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, the beams glistened off the water and the red footbridge deepened it's tone. Quite a sight at such a magical hour of the day. I sit with my head tilted back on the park bench and let my mind wander. It seemed as though with a blink of an eye the night sky bled through the dusk.With the cool breeze blowing th clouds across the darkened sky, I tried to recognize any of the constellations I ...

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...

Hanoi--Toto, we're not in Hong Kong anymore!!Now I realize how smart it was to stop in Hong Kong on my way to Vietnam. Hong Kong was meant to ease me out of familiarity. The different time, different food, different language... My plane landed 2 hours ago and my adventure has begun. Nothing is familiar.Off to a good start. I met another solo traveler on the plane. we shared a ride into the Old Quarter, dodging through bikes and motorcycles sharing the narrow ...