A foreigner stops by a ceramic shop in Hang Be (raft) Street which dealt exclusively in rafts in the old days

Hanoi’s old quarter doesn’t seem so old.

A foreigner stops by a ceramic shop in Hang Be (raft) Street which dealt exclusively in rafts in the old days

Brand new motorbikes, SUVs and even busses zip by in every direction, shattering ear drums with their horns and pushing stray pedestrians out of the way.

But despite the traffic and modern signage, much of traditional Hanoi is the same as it was before the motorbikes and SUVs.

Peek through or above the thick black electric cables blocking your view overhead and you’ll see the colorful, if not fading, facades of old Chinese shophouses, French villas and Buddhist pagodas and temples.

Elderly couples sit and drink tea on their stoops, youngsters smoke cigarettes on balconies adorned with decorative iron work and trellises filled with tropical plants.

But each residence is also a business, turning the entire quarter into a giant market. Down the tiny streets and seemingly endless labyrinth of alleys, shopkeepers sell everything under the sun, from ball bearings and light bulbs to live chickens and snake wine. The clutter of open air fish markets, the noise of squealing pigs and the loud screeches and bangs from the metal workshops make this site unlike any in the world.

But the history of the area is shrouded in mystery, like the low fog that hangs over Hoan Kiem Lake on early winter mornings.

Many Vietnamese and foreigners know the area as the “36 streets” which is a misnomer, as the quarter has far more than 36 streets, and no one is certain where that number even came from.

Some researchers say the oldest part of Hanoi was originally based off of 36 streets, each of which sold a different ware. Others contend that the number 36 came from the 15th century, when workers of different trades gathered in different areas to form 36 “guilds,” or workshop areas, not actual streets.

Some attribute the number 36 to abstract numerology. The number nine signifies abundance in eastern philosophy. Nine times the four directions makes 36, which people take to mean “many,” or “plenty.”

A district blossoms

Nowadays, the streets of the old quarter are still associated with traditional trades plied there for hundreds of years.

That’s why they’re called Hang (which means merchandise or shop), followed by the name of their product: therefore Hang Chieu (mat) sells mats, and Hang Bac (silver) traders specialize in silver and jewelry.

History books say that during the beginning of the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225), the streets now known as the old quarter began to branch out around the citadel. As King Ly Thai To had just moved the capital of Vietnam to Hanoi, people from all over Vietnam, and even China, Cambodia and the Kingdom of Champa began moving to the area for it’s commercial opportunity.

Among these were renowned silversmiths and blacksmiths from the northern Vietnamese province of Nam Dinh. They and other craftsmen and artisans began to ply their trades in Hanoi and workers making or selling similar goods set up shop on the same streets because most of them were usually from the same hometown or region.

In the early 16th century, the old town area became the production and trade center of Thang Long (now Hanoi), and people first began referring to the “36 streets.”

The craftspeople of the old quarter then formed artisan guilds and named the streets, which might not have been actually streets before this period, for the trades practices and specialties sold on them.

In fact, each “Hang” is not merely a street, but more like a miniature trading village all in its own.

Traditions live

There are now around 30 streets that still keep the name “Hang,” compared to over 50 a century ago.

But some no longer trade the products related to their name, like Hang Than (coal), which now sells wedding teas and cakes. Hang Buom (sail), Hang Voi (lime), Hang Be (raft) no long trade in the bulky goods they were named after.

Hang Be is a special case as it used to be right on the shore of the Red River. But the banks have receded over time and it became inconvenient to trade rafts in the middle of the city.

Locals have also changed the names of several streets that no longer trade in the products associated with their names hundreds of years ago.

The traditional shops on Hang Son (which sold varnish and paint) and Hang Bat Dan (glazed terracotta ware), have been replaced by cha ca (fried fish patties) shops and pho (beef noodle soup) stalls, and Hang Son is now Pho Cha Ca.

Hang Chao (rice porridge) now shares a street with hundreds of shops selling screw and electrical appliances, whereas Hang Dieu (tobacco water pipe) now specializes in blankets, pillows, and cushions. Hang Mam (salted fish) no longer sells mam.

Hang Non (hat), Hang Luoc (comb), and Hang Ca (fish) streets have now been gentrified and are full of boutiques selling luxurious goods. Hang Gai specializes in selling expensive silk to foreigners.

But the poorer days of Hanoi can still be seen in many of the old quarters small streets. Hang Bun (small rice noodles), whose original name was Hang Mun (scraps), was where locals collected bits of cloth to mend ragged clothes. Hang Chai (scrap metal) was a scrap-iron dealer hub, but the street is now a headquarters for dragon dancers and a dao (traditional Vietnamese chamber music, sometimes compared to Geisha entertainment) singers.

Neo Retro

Many traditional streets continue to shine through, withstanding the onslaughts of change and urbanization around them.

Many locals still prefer shopping on several streets that have barely changed. Hang Bac (silver) and Hang Khay (products inlayed with mother-of pearl) are still popular even though shoppers have many more newer, more modern options throughout the city.

During the mid autumn festival, Hang Ma (shiny paper products, such as gift wrappings,  wedding decorations and miniature paper objects to burn for the dead) still lights up the way it did centuries ago with parents taking their children to buy toys or lanterns.

Hang Dao is still the city’s most popular clothing stop for women. The first shop owners there were skillful tailors from v

Don’t be scared! this is what you need first for a scuba diving jump. In fact, scuba diving is most relaxing and full of astonishment.

me and Vy- my dive partner

Scuba diving is a kind of underwater dive when you go down into the water with basically a self-contained compressed air bottle and a pair of fins. In Vietnam, one can do scuba diving in Danang, Nha trang, Phu Quoc and Con Dao, but Nha trang has been reportedly the best location for this kind of activity, amazing as it is, having 16 different diving spots and 12 diving clubs.

Don’t feel restrained if you cannot swim or never get under the water, because you will miss to see this amazing underworld that the dive can offer.

On my trip to dive in Nha trang recently, we were accompanied by a team of experienced dive masters both Vietnamese and expats from the US and Russia (Russian guys are famous at diving). Tea, coffee and fruits were served on the deck while we were cruising to the dive location near the Mun islet in Nha trang, one of the masters were giving us a briefing about the underwater tour with necessary sign languages and instruction on helping ourself with pressure compensation in our ears as well as on how to use our diving set, we were eager to begin a jump.

For beginners like us, we must be accompanied by a dive master for the whole diving session as a part of security. For those experienced divers having PADI certificates, they can be free to dive on their own. In Nha trang, normal dive is down to maximum 6 meters and deep dive can be down to 30 meters.

I was totally amazed by the beauty and diversification of the coral reefs in Nha Trang, the views with so many colorful and strange-looking types of fish and other species are just spectacular. Because of the crystal water and the sun, everything is clear even at the depth of 6 meters. I had 30 minutes of cruising between the corals with my divefins, touching the corals, playing with the fish. As soon as we got to the surface, the dive master asked what I was thinking, my immediate answer was “Just can’t wait for the 2nd diving location”.

The second location was about 15 minutes by boat away and we were in the middle of rocky islands where the swallow birds live and this is where bird-nests are havested by the locals as well. We were intimidated to see men with rifles guarding these rocks and ready to shoot at the divers who would come close to dive. Anyway, we arrived at our place and off we went for the second dive. This time the dive master was taking me alittle bit deeper (around 7 meters) and we were going through small caves. We could see fish as big as a palm traveling in groups of hundreds and hiding from the sun under those caves.

We ended our trip with full of memories and were anxious to see signs of polution thread to this precious wonder. For myself, the legacy confronting me was from the compressed air which was too dry, and because I took 2 sessions at a time, I suffered a sore throat for the following a couple of days. But it was really worth it.

Mark- my American dive master

The rocks where we did the second dive, close to bird-nest area

Me after the first jump

- The pictures of the beach in front of the resort in the brochures are fake.
- The water is not clean during the summer time and is only clear after October
- There is a lack of good maintenance, bushes are not well cared, water leaking under the bungalows. The bases of the bungalows have an ugly look. As the whole, the resort is running down.

Note for travel agents and tour operators:
Expect to pay VND 20,000 per person should you would like to do an inspection of the resort. I am a tour operator doing an inspection with hope to increase our business to this area. When we were entering, there was no one at the gate to ask for entrance fee because apparently this staff was having a nap. After inspecting the resort with the guide of one of the staff, and while going out, we were asked by another staff for the entrance fee. We were quite surprised and asked her to check with the resort manager, explaining that we were there working, not on holidays or using the beach…. Finally, they insisted on our paying for the fees. For us, this is very ridiculous.

Cat Ba and Halong are very potential for deep water soloing and rope climbs. Water soloing is a form of rock climbing where the base of the rock is immersed in deep water which is dependent much on the tides. The water is there to cushion any fall whether intentional or otherwise. Rope climbing is usually practiced with a cliff on a beach or a valley on Cat Ba island called Butterfly valley, with a normal height of 30 meters. This activity requires at least 2 persons with one being the climber and the other a belayer. The job of the belayer is to control the rope that is attached to bodies of them as protection for the climber and his or her landing after reaching the climb target.

My first experience with this rock climbing was full of sensations including acrophobia (fear of the height when looking down), strange feeling like a lizard clipping itself into a wall, fully weary with my whole body, terribly focusing on my fingers, legs and belly tensions. For experienced climbers, this activity, on the opposite, is a moment of relaxation and sport enjoyment. After reaching the top of the 30 meters cliff, of course, the feeling was happiness and the reward of the rope landing. For me, I was doing a top-rope climb and reached the top after one failure.

Rock climbs are classified into numerous levels with ages of climbers varying from 9 to 80 depending on which difficulty one can do. I found this sport very interesting because to succeed with it, one must always score a balance both physically and mentally and there are always different challenges for you to try. The game also helps to build one’s self-confidence and determination.

This resort can accommodate upto 130 guests, it has a 250 seat restaurant, a swimming pool, a spa, a convention hall, a coffee shop and a bar with karaoke rooms. Most of the rooms can be good for triple accommdation and some are long houses which are good upto 40 people. The resort faces a big lake formed by a natural stream which is perfect for the bicycle ride (double seater bikes) going through grass fields, a bridge and narrow roads.

Visitors are not allowed to bring their foods and drinks inside and there is no entrance fee. The services are alittle bit more expensive than elsewhere. The rooms, constructed and decorated in old Vietnamese styles and bungalows can be comparable to standard of a 2 star hotel. As we have seen, some visitors are very frustrated with the biking service which is charged VND 32000 per hour and the bikes are old and with very low quality while there is always the risk that they have to compensate if anything happens that breaks down the bike.

Actually we had prepared ourselves some activities rather than using the services like swimming pool or the bar. Upon arrival, we made our way to a football pitch nearby and played football for about 1 hour. After returning for refreshment we had lunch in the restaurant of the resort and enjoyed some free time on the yellow sun of autumn. Then we had some exciting games like “tug of war” (2 groups of about 10 people each pulling a string from opposite sides, trying to defeat the other) and driving a tennis ball with a botther attached to a string on your waist. Everybody was fanatic for the games.

We returned in Hanoi at 9 PM after stopping over in Hoa Lac to taste the famous “Ga ri” at restaurants serving cuisines made from chicken.

Tan Da resort

Tan Da – Spa resort
Add: Tan linh – Ba Vi – Ha Tay – Vietnam
Tel: +8434.3881047
Email: tandahotspring@vnn.vn

The Cafe will also host a sales desk for touriest to book cruises on Halong Bay. In addtion to overnight cruises, the Emeraude is now offering Day Cruises

Sunrise in Quan Lan island

Having an area of 11 sq km and a long thin shape, Quan Lan island neighbors Ban Sen island to the west, Ba Mun island as a national park to the east and some smaller islands around. Transfer to the island can be made by boat either from Halong city (4.5 hrs) or Van Don town (2.5 hrs)
The main transportation on the island is by tuk-tuks. You will need it to transfer from the pier to the small town (~2km).

About accommodation, there are not many options to choose from. Located right by the Quan Lan beach is the ATI resort with more than ten small bungalows and one big long house for collective accommodation. Continue further  to town you will find some smaller guesthouses, of which Vinh Ly and Ngan Ha are the two that have been in tourist services for many years, Vinh Ly has been renovated and looks more outstanding. Another option is Van Hai resort which is located by Son Hao beach (7 km from town and 9 km from pier). This resort is big with villas and bungalows but still not 100% finished.

Minh chau beach in Quan Lan island

The highlights of the island are the clear beaches with long stretches of white sand namely Quan Lan beach, Son Hao beach and Minh Chau beach.

The popular issue for local inhabitants and visitors is electricity. Because the island is isolated from the main land, power supply is from a local generator, running from 6 PM to 11 PM only. However, the guesthouses and hotels have the own generators to provide power for the guests during the night. This makes a big difference between a room with fan and another with air-conditioning because the cost for electricity here is around 5 times more expensive than elsewhere.

Come and enjoy your vacation in this secluded paradise of Halong Bay.

Son Hao beach

Road in Quan Lan

ATI resort in Quan Lan

Nai Shell

My trip this time had a lot of things to do with the Mekong, taking ferries across and along the river, watching the fishermen catching the fish, meeting the dolphins, seeing the water fall, and staying every night at a hotel on the river. The route started from the triangle border of Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia to Attapeu, Champasak in Laos, going down to Kratie, Kompocham and continued to Siemreap in Cambodia.

JUNE 30, 2007 KON TUM – BO Y – ATTAPEU – DON DUANG
Catching up with the team from Kon Tum at 9 AM, driving 100 km to Bo Y border via Ngoc Hoi (intersection with Hochiminh Trails), the fierce former battle field during American war. Meeting up with Laos friends then went through immigration at 12.

Road from Bo y border to Champasak

Short light lunch with noodle soup at a small restaurant by the border gate, then drove 350 to Don Duang via Attapeu and Se Kong. To reach Don Duang, turn left about 20 km before the city of Pakse, the central economic and political city in the South of Laos. On our way, we were supposed to visit the Tad Pane water fall but could not do it due to the heavy rain. Road condition for the whole distance is very good. We saw mostly thick forests on the way with a few houses of the tribal Laos people, many trucks carrying huge timber logs towards Vietnam. We arrived at the ferry pier on the eastern side of Mekong River at 7 PM when it was already dark.

La Folie Lodge in Don Duang

Don Duang is an island about 2 km from the eastern side of Mekong river, the name meaning Red Island. We had to leave our bus and take a ferry to reach the place where we would stay for overnight. We were the first clients to stay at the brand new resort named La Folie Lodge (the Resort of Madness). Greeted by the GM together with the staff (all dressed in red uniform), helping us with the luggage and getting on the ferry which was alittle bit scary because of having no life jackets or buoys aboard. After 20 minutes of cruise in the dark, we arrived at the resort by putting off our shoes and walking through the water and on the soft sand of the Mekong (dotted with cow shit ). It was a funny and nice experience anyway. The hotel is all constructed in wood and run with a generator since the electricity network was not yet available, room quite clean and cosy even though there is no hot water available at this time. We were hosted with a western dinner together with Laos beer. The hotel was brand new but the service seemed quite good and the staff were very friendly.

JULY 01, 2007 CHAMPASAK – DON KHON

Continental breakfast at the hotel. We set out by wading again through the water on to the small ferry to reach the other side of Mekong river. Champasak means in Laos language the Mountain of Cham. The Cham came here in the 5th century and started building the temple on the side of a hill overlooking the large flat land on the mountain. By 7th century, they had to leave the place due to the advent of the Khmer who later continued the construction of the temple complex during 7th and 11th centuries. By 12th century, due to an unknown reason (presumption was that there was a volcano and earthquake), the Khmer left this land and moved to the current Angkor Wat area, but still for some times they returned to the temple for appreciating the success of the complex.

Old temple in Champasak

On the ferry back from Champasak ancient temple, we had chance to taste the Laos’ popular noodle called Koppun, of which the soup is made from fish or pork, spiced with chilly, lemon grass, garlic, very spicy and hot

Lunch at King Fisher’s Lodge, a small but nice restaurant with 8 sleeping rooms over looking the grass fields which sometimes can be visible with the elephants of the nearby villages

Continued 2 hours drive to visit the water fall (so called Niagra of S.E Asia) on the Mekong. This part of the river stretches horizontally 14 km, covering about 4000 small islands.

Here again, the electric network is still not yet available and we are supposed to have the electricity by generator until 10 pm only. However the room is quite big and clean at the hotel called Auberg Sala Done Khon whose owner is very nice and friendly.

Fish from the Mekong river

JUL 02, 2007 DON KHON – CAMBODIA BORDER – KOMPOMCHAM

We took the ferry back to the pier again and continued to drive to Cambodia border, passing some bad roads through the forests. Immigration on both sides were done but we faced a problem since our bus could not come to the border to pick us up because the bus was not possible to get on the ferry which is 50 km away, in Stung Treng city. We finally rented a local van and a pick-up truck at the border and drove to the ferry.

Our bus picked us up at the other side of the ferry. After lunch in Strung Treng we continued to Kratie and got on small boats to see the dolphins. Due to the high water season, the dolphins have scattered around instead of going in blocks in the middle of the river as in dry season. However we met them, in couples and triples going near the front of our boats. These animals are now under protection by WWF.

We arrived in Kompomcham at 8h30 PM, a little bit tired. The hotel Mekong is nice, clean and overlooking a big bridge on the Mekong.

JUL 03, 2007 KOMPOMCHAM – SIEMREAP – HANOI
After driving for 4 hours from Kompocham, we arrived in Siemreap. After lunch at a local restaurant near the Old market in the center of Siem Reap (where I got some nice dry fish of Mekong), we set out to see Angkor Wat and Tahprom temples. Then the group dropped me at the Siemreap airport for flight to Hanoi at 19h45.

More photos of Laos and Cambodia are located at:
http://gallery.travel84.com/main.php?g2_itemId=40 and http://gallery.travel84.com/main.php?g2_itemId=43&g2_page=2

Outside the La Folie in Don Duang

Old relics in Champasak

This relic is believed to be 1300 years old

Hotel Auberg Sala Done Khon

Don Khon waterfall

Life on the Mekong

Border checkpoint between Laos and Cambodia

Tasty crikets sold in Kompomcham

In Halong Bay there are different caves to do kayaking such as Bat cave, Dark cave, Hanh cave… You can certainly do the kayaking in the open water as well, doing some kind of rowing contest with your buddies, for example. This video will show a kayak trip to Bat cave and Dark cave and a tour at night to catch fish. We later enjoyed our catch including a variety of fish and crabs on the roof of our boat.

Rowing a kayak is easy but to ride it smoothly, particularly sharing it with a partner, needs some practice. In Halong bay, with a kayak, chances are to see more of the world heritage’s natural beauty including the intact rocky caves, greeny and quiet lagoons with corals and wildlife like monkeys and birds.
This video was made in May 2006 during my trip to Halong Bay sleeping overnight on the Ginger junk

Enjoy!

JVC-D270AG

This video was freshly made right after I bought my digital camera during the same trip in Singapore in April 2006. This JVC-D270AG combines animation and still image storing on both compact flash disk and traditional cassettes, featuring a zoom of 25x optical and 800x digital

The video will show the busy streets of Singapore with sightseeings, shops, restaurants and cafes, the metro and some speeches by a friend of mine (Mr. Minh) about the China town, the famous Geylang (red light district) and the Little Indian town.

This clip is the start of the new video blogging feature in our website that will continue to be added up with multiple animation stories soon.

Happy blogging!
A camera newbie