rhkkmk

it was at the marriott, not at a "thai" place.. i did think about ordering nasi goring or phad thai but sandwich appealed...

off in an hour to meet pook et al for more indian food...

loaded up on dim sum this AM at a mini-breakfast at 7:15

we both had sleeping issues again last night...

gailmo

Enjoy the weather....and it looks like it will be a perfect time for you in Vietnam also. I am in Chiang Rai and this morning it was almost COLD! We return to Hanoi tomorrow and checking the weather for that location were almost stunned by the cooler temperatures and dry forecast. You should have WONDERFUL weather for this time of year.

bookchick

Ha, you nay-sayers slay me!

First of all, Gpanda, Bob used the Bose headphones to mostly listen to nothing and drown out noise. To my way of thinking, it's pretty much the same result as listening to Perry Como.

Rizz, that's obviously envy talking. If you have a prescription, I can take you to a place on Main Street in Ann Arbor for that sandwich, although we'll have to make a brief stop at Zingerman's on Detroit Street to get the bread and condiments.

Bob, lovin' this trip report! And just so you can gloat a bit more, we've had frost here the past couple of nights, and a windstorm late Wednesday took down about a third of the mountain ash in my front yard! (My yardman showed up on Friday morning with a chipper to dispose of errant branches and said he was happy to help.) Keep apprising us of the doings, as you know, I live vicariously through your travels!

BC

rhkkmk

up early once again after a fitful night's sleep for both of us... breakfast by 7:15--if you know us, this is unusual..

tong came by about 10:15 for that hug and we sat in the club for a few minutes..

we met pook, mony and dang just before noon. The brunch at rang mahal (rembrandt hotel, soi 18 sukhumvit) never disappoints.. we had a nice table by the window... i have a few pics..

pook had purchased a couple of things from amazon and had them delivered to our house so we illegally imported them to thailand for him.. haha.. we brought them to brunch.. We spent a couple of very pleasant hours with them enjoying the company, good chat and delicious food offerings: favorites were a warm pita with chicken kabob carved from a gyro type cooker which was served sliced with a green yogurt sauce and white onions.... and the best ever array of western desserts... we parted about 2 PM with hopes of seeing each other later in our trip...

on behalf of all of us, I warmly welcomed pook back to fodors. he is truly an asset to the asia board, not to mention a "war" veteran reporter.

We made a short stop at the marriott svc apartments on soi 24 and then returned to the hotel for a coolish swim... i never thought this day would come, when i would use the words cool and swim in the same sentence about bangkok...

we welcome a cool stay in vietnam as well..

btw, the taxi we took to the rembrandt hotel had a rigged meter...

we have yet to experience heavy traffic...

off to vietnam in the AM. i booked our flight to hanoi with air france. they later notified me that the flight had been cancelled and they had rebooked me on vietnam air, so we will be using them for 3 flights on this trip..

i think all of our vn hotels have wi-fi so the reports will continue...

Smeagol

Bob we used vn air several times last year and they were excellent!
Glad you caught up with Pook et al, enjoy Hanoi I am envious you are going back to that lovely city

Hanuman

Ha ha yes Bob is my mule for illegal contraband. Between Carol, Brad, Ken and Bosoon to be Kathie) I have no need to travel to the USA for anything!

A pleasure seeing both Bob and Karen again and what a nice time we had chatting. A great trip to Vietnam and see you when you get back here!

dgunbug

Looking forward to hearing about your impressions of VN. We also used VN airlines and were very happy with them. You sure are lucky with the weather. Hope it holds up in VN for you.

Craig

Looking forward to an update from Hanoi...

Sounds like a nice time as usual with Pook and family.

gailmo

What time is your flight to HAN? My husband and I are flying from BKK to HAN tomorrow also. Leaving BKK at 12:20pm on VN airlines. If you are on this flight I can show you a photo of your guide for Hue and Hoi An! We can also discuss the "wonders" of air travel vs train travel!!

Gailmo

Gpanda

gailmo-you will be able to recognize Bob if he's on your flight. Just think of a very large smiling Buddha In caucasian form. That's him. Or just go up to the largest person complaining. That's him.

dgunbug

My husband has a rather large belly. Throughout VN people called him the "Happy Buddha"! The Vietnamese people are not used to robust men or woman and their comments were very funny.

kmkrnn

We are on that flight ..look for us.

rhkkmk

in fact i might even equal 2 buddhas...

we should be at the airport about 10:30, leaving here at 9:30..

i can't believe it, we have benn in bkk for a couple of days and we have not had one bite of thai food save a few hors in the club, and that does not count...

for anyone coming to bkk soon, the new kempinski hotel is open and sits at siam paragon... it has a 3 for two night opening deal... for basic room that work out to about 4000 B per night... can't beat that for this lux... go to their site..

gailmo

Ahhhhh...I have met the famous smiling Buddha and he is very wise and all-knowing when it comes to travel! I seemed to have lost him and his wife in the scrum to get off the plane in Hanoi and through customs. Perhaps the border guards really knew his past history and wouldn't let him through passport control!

It was great fun to meet and talk with such an avid Fodor poster boy. I only wished we had more time to chat----which of course means that I need to get myself to a GTG at some point in time.

One side note: Bob thought "Gailmo" was someone from Italy and was looking for a sexy Italian man instead of a "hot" lady named Gail from Missouri. BTW....hot refers to my mid-life temperature and not my fading body.

Hanuman

How were the club hors Bob?

dgunbug

Gailmo - it's always fun to find out something about a poster. Enjoy VN. We'll be waiting for your trip report as well!

Gpanda

Gailmo-good job losing Bob. A nearly impossible task. It's safe now because he's asleep in VN. I'm sure he'll catch us up soon.

rhkkmk

Monday

up early again and down to the market for a substantial breakfast.... met up with one of the hostesses whom we have known for years...

decided we better take some lunch with us on the plane so went to the marriott bakery and bought a few things... and was that a good idea when we saw the trays on vn air...

The taxi driver we had asked the day before came for us at exactly 9:30 and off we went... very little traffic... i love rama III for getting into the city or to the highway from riverside... flat rate 500B-- fair enough.

Almost no line at vn air... K checked out a couple of shops, of course...

While sitting in the waiting area a very nice italian man spoke to us---whoops... it turned out to be gail from MO...

btw, tell us more about your overseas teaching assignments please...

we had a very short chat and then we had to board... we were nearer to the back and gail and hubby were mid-plane so we never got to complete our chat... sorry to say..

we were visa on arrival which i would not do again---way tooooo inefficient... consequently we were the last to leave customs and gail was probably in the city already...

the drive to the city center takes perhaps 30-45 minutes...

We stopped at tonkin travel's office to pay our bill--very reasonable we think... the office is small with perhaps 5 staff... our rep was very friendly---they served us tea..

The driver they had sent ($20.) was excellent, but very little english... He drove very slowly and carefully...

HERE I WILL STOP FOR A MOMENT AND TELL YOU THAT THE HANOI OF TODAY IS NOTHING LIKE THE HANOI OF 10 YEARS AGO... We almost could not believe the changes.... way more cars, more animals--cows in the fields, way fewer fields, many more big impressive houses... way more traffic... very few bicycles... many more motorbikes---did i mention more cars and expensive ones too---what's happening to socialism--i guess it only still exists in cambridge...

Hang Gai St which in 2000 was a quiet little shopping street with no cars really, is nearly a major street now with twice the shops with 1/2 the quality, but much more variety...

We are staying at the newish Gia Boa Grand Hotel on Lo Su St in the old town area--3*... Noisy during the day but quiet enough after 10 PM... I heard the 1st horn at 5AM this morning... Right now at 5PM, its one horn after another...
$90 per night including a nice breakfast/taxes/service--free in-room internet too... We are on the 9th floor in a "VIP" room... Large room and hard bed--but its better than too soft... One wall is a picture mural of a park scene in hanoi... 4 big windows and a view of the famous old bridge.. we are very pleased.. Tonkin did good... They offered us about 3 choices of hotels in each city after i told them that we wnted to try locally owned 3* hotels.

After arrival we walked around the area a bit---out to the main drag around the lake and found ourselves just across from the red bridge---so this is a great location..

We stopped at green tangerine restaurant for a drink and they only had 2 res left for dinner---8:45 and 9 so we passed... K liked the menu, but i found it boring... we may go another night...

After a while in the room we walked to the near-by Highway 4 Restaurant (4 locations) after not finding two others that the hotel front desk had suggested... PERFECT... we were on the 4th floor---walkup-- roof terrace with only 2 tables for 5... another couple from OZ came along, and joined us at the other table... we had a nice chat...

Dinner was cashew chicken, of course, good but a bit bland....a fried noodle with veggie dish which was excellent... to start we had had 2 plates of paper wrapped (one rice paper and one soft wrap) large shrimp spring rolls, which were excellent... 6 in one and 4 in the other. two hanoi beers and 2 waters... 346,000 dn (~$17).

back to bed... one small problem... we could not figure out how to turn off two sets of the lights... i gave up and K was annoyed and jumped out of bed and spent 5-7 mins until she finally found a reostat on my side of the bed, which i had already fooled with... nothing new here..

better sleep but still not right...

rhkkmk

Tuesday

delicious breakfast with really fresh french style light baggettes... really good omlette also...

asked doorman to get us two pedi-cabs.... 50,000 dn ($2.50) each for about an hour trip around the lake, with a drop off on hang gai st.... great leisurely ride with tons of sights... only nearly killed a dozen times, but drivers/peddlers are firmly in control...

our morning's goal was to fully explore hang gai st. As noted above, it has changed totally since our last visit in 2000.

First stop was the gorgeous Thang Long Gallery at #41... We saw several things we liked.... most of the art is huge, but our old house only has room for "norman" sized art... prices roughly $500-$10,000+. After perhaps one hour there we moved on visiting shops and more galleries. we found a couple of more things we liked. we bought some bookmarks from a blind man... K bought a raw silk blouse....

For lunch we stopped at a small place called Les Malxaux, #2 Hang Bong, at corner of hang gai... Chicken, noodle, and veggie dish for K and a weird onion soup and a croque moisseur for me, coke and large water, plus a creme caramel and a lemon tart.... 284,000 dn ($14.50).

We completed the rest of the street. of all the shops we went into, only one was remembered from 10 years ago...

the long gallery had suggested that we visit a "workshop" where they show and produce lifelike looking embroidered art. We took a taxi there and are thinking about a couple of things we saw.

Back to the hotel after that... taxis start at about 10,000 dn ($.50) at flag through. a long ride today cost about $3.

Decided i needed a haircut. a few doors up from the hotel was a small busy salon with an empty chair... For 100,000 dn ($5) i spent about 15 min being cut mostly by sissors. I tipped her and everyone was shocked ($1)...

up to room to relax and do internet...

will try Mediterraneo on nha tho, 23 tonight... had a great lunch there 10 years ago... near the cathederal..

may do some standard tourist stuff tomorrow---temple of literature and hanoi hilton...

gailmo

The mid-Missouri girl posing as an "Italian man" did make a fast get-away from the airport. My husband and I have a multi-entry visa, so we breezed right through passport. I must add though--baggage is soooooo slow in Hanoi. Plan on at least 30 minutes for your bags to appear!

A standard taxi from the airport to Hanoi is 250,000 dong ($12.50). It is cheaper heading back to the airport from Hanoi (170,000 dong) because the taxi drivers can get a fare back to the city. The airport taxis cannot do this and typically drive back empty.

Make sure when you leave the terminal you cross the street to the taxi area. DO NOT agree to take a taxi from someone who approaches you inside the terminal or on the sidewalk right outside. CROSS THE ROAD...and you will see guys with yellow shirts who will put you into a Nobai or Airport taxi to the city. Set rate is 250,000 dong.

....and, at some point (after I get my Thailand blog entry written and an entry on using Hanoi buses) I will post on my overseas teaching experiences. It is a great way to travel and (sometimes) get paid too!