575 Kim Ma

After weeks of construction and months of plannning, the spectacular 3rd 'Highway 4' Restaurant and Bar offically opens its doors today. With the first two bars in Central and South Hanoi, Highway 4 have branched out West on the busy Kim Ma road (opposite Thu Le Lake and Hanoi Zoo).

Featuring the new Son Tinh bottle (launched last week), a Japanese style seating area, a roof terrace with views over the lake and the gentle hum of 100,000 motorbikes passing each day.

For more images click here

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APEC

George Bush arrived in town at 11 am. We left at 1 pm.

Although the hype never materialised, it was suggested that half the city's roads would be shut down over the weekend, causing chaos in central Hanoi.

Time to bike to the countryside....

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Kho Muong

3 hours SW of Hanoi lies Pu Luong National Park. Having only opened its doors to tourism very recently, staying in one of the villages with the Thai people is a friendly and true experience.

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Ho Tay

Sunset over West Lake....

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Snake

7 km North East of Hanoi lies the ancient village of Le Mat. The locals have been catching and breeding snakes, making snake wines and cooking tasty snake dishes for some 900 years.

Whilst the many restaurants have mouthwatering menus (including snake spring rolls, ground snake bones, snake soup, snake skin crisps) a trip to the village is for the whole experience, not just the food. After selecting a snake, it is killed at the table and its blood and bile are mixed with snake penis wine for a powerful appetizer. The heart is then removed and for one lucky diner they have the honour of swallowing it while it is still beating.

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Karaoke

There is a huge difference between Karaoke in Europe and Asia.

In the West it takes the format of untalented wannabes belting out cheesy songs in a tacky pub to people who don't really want to listen.

In the East it takes the format of a group of untalented friends belting out cheesy songs in a tacky private room to people who cant listen because they are already singing at the top of their voices.

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Cabin Fever

view from the house....

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TĂªt-Trung-Thu

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, honors the Moon which is at its brightest at this time of the year.

In a Vietnamese folklore, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the children playing by themselves. To make up for lost time, parents would use the Mid-Autumn festival as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation for their children.

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Do Son

Two hours East of Hanoi, Do Son Beach is located between the Lach Tray and Van Uc Rivers. Whilst many people come here to sunbathe, relax, and hike - the town is more notorious for it's casino, hookers and buffalo fighting.

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Hoi Choi Trau

The Buffalo Fight in Do Son is officially held every year on the 9th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

We didnt see a lot of fighting as the beer tent was between the main enterance and the stadium; however the buffalo often simply end up chasing each other (and occassionly the crowd). After a good days fighting the bufflao are doused in water, attatched to the mains electric, butchered and sold as prime meat.

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Ha Noi

View from the new house....

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China

The big difference between Hong Kong and China is all the signs that were accompanied by English translations suddenly disappear and you are left looking at characters that mean absolutley nothing. Then you realise that the few Cantonese words you picked up are also worthless as everybody now speaks Mandarin and very few speak English.

(The translations dont always appear to work.)

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Pingxiang

China's border town to Vietnam. A 3-wheeler takes you from the town to The Friendship Pass - the first/last thing you'll see of China.

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Nanning

Although it's another big, ultra modern Chinese city, there is a bit of character about Nanning and worth a quick visit.

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Yangshou

A beautiful town on the Li River, Yangshou has long been exposed to tourism and over a million Chinese visitors pass through each year. However, it is easy to avoid the much touted West Street and mix with the locals.

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The TV Tower

A two hour treck up a steep hill offers panoramic views over the town and river.

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Moon Hill

Eight km SW of Yangshou is one of the areas main attractions - a karst peak which obtains its name from a large round hole in the middle of the mountain. Usually tackled as a day trip from town, the best way to see it is to stay in the local farming village and just cross the road at first light. The very relaxing, family run Moon Hill Resort offers a taste of local life and is a welcome break from the bright lights of the town.

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Liu Sanjie

A spectacular light show at the confluence of the Li and Yu Long Rivers. Designed and directed by Zhang Yimao, who has been awarded to task of directing the opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it is a major production with a cast of 500 singers, dancers, bamboo boats and cormorants birds.

Fortunately met one of the cast over a bowl of street noodles the day before and got me in through the 'peformers village' to watch the show from backstage.

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K36

Public transport in China is very efficient, all the buses and trains are well staffed and are usually very comfortable. The 13 hour trip to Yangshou arrived just 8 minutes behind schedule and the 6 hour bus journey to Nanning was 2 minutes early.

My 2 hour coach trip to Heathrow was 40 minutes late and then the tube was delayed.

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Guangzhou

On the train from Hong Kong, a girl from Shanghai described Guangzhou as the "Armpit of China". Wasn't there long enough to justify this but what I did see was big and bland.

Perhaps this sign at the exit the railway station sums it up.

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