>>>Stayed awake until 9:30pm which was good and slept in the most comfortable bed/pillow ever until 5:30am.<<<

(Oh, yes, something about those Peninsula beds in beloved Bangkok -- and the occasional, precious nocturnal company. With my current work, am obliged to stay in various hotels in various cities, and those Pen beds - and that companionship - do facilitate 'sweet dreams'.)


Now, many thanks 'barefoot' for the beautiful writing! Pleasure to read. (And, 'btw', during your time in BKK, did you ever make it cross river to the Shangri-La's little gift shop for some of that lovely Thai 'khim' music you enquired? Sweet little place and the 'home' of my all-time cherished Bangkok 'shop girl'.)

Hope you give Bangkok, other fine BKK hotels (Four Seasons, perhaps), and some rather special friends and employees at the Peninsula another round. (Enormous personal / professional bias, to be sure - support that Thai economy.) If so, certain rooms/suites on floors 32, 35 & 36 at the Peninsula have provided rather good karma - and unobstructed views - over the past ~ 18 months. Our little secret - and am looking forward to returning this weekend from Singapore. (Guess the airline.)

Thanks again barefoot for the fine writing and safe and joyous travel to you and all in fodorland.

macintosh (robert)


... "Khun Robert! Welcome home!" ...

(Thanks forever for the warmth and discretion, fine Peninsula management / staff.)

The movie was in the Thai Hoa Palace, just as you go behind the main royal reception area (In the Imperial City).

And, Robert, I just said "oh no!" I FORGOT to go look in the gift shop at the Shangri-La as you had suggested for the music...but my excuse is, we were rushing to get to the Blue Elephant Cooking class.

Thanks for the movie sight..I have put it on our list. How long was it?

Will definitely make a point of seeing the movie. Still waiting for the rest or your report!!!

Bookmarking. Looking forward to more.

Barefoot - we leave for Vietnam in less than 2 weeks. Please finish your report before then!

kmlkrnn, the mmovie was about 10 min. dgunbug, I hope I can get to it while we're in Bali...in Saigon now, and I'm sounding redundant, but I can't take this heat!!!! Couldn't make it thru all of them War Remnants Museum becuz we thought we 'd pass out...in more ways than one. They could at least A/C it since it's the biggest tourist attraction in HCMC...they're erecting much scaffolding,etc. in prep for the big 35 yr celebration of the "liberation" of Saigon. Glad we're going to miss the big deal...everything is closed anyway. Big surprise...I like HCMC alot...didn't expect to so didn't allocate much time here. Must have a drink on the rooftop bar of the Caravelle...sit on the rounded corner with gorgeous views of lit up HCMC...we're staying here and it's very nice.

Didn't realize you were still there. Enjoy the rest of your trip. (No pressure to finish - but of course, I'd love to hear ever last detail!) We allocated 3 full days for Saigon despite the fact that everyone seems to only do 2, with one at the tunnels. Glad to hear you are enjoying Saigon so much. We did Cambodia last February and I can't imagine being any hotter than that.

I think at least 3 days in HCMC is just fine, i too am not sure why people don't like it, whilst its not my most favourite city there is certainly enough to keep you occupied.

VIET NAM:
Hanoi:
Felt a little shabby checking into the luxurious
Sofitel Metropole wearing our hot weather Cambodia clothes, esp since we took others advice and opted for the club floor in the new Opera wing...which is now called something like Premier Deluxe. So our "butler" checked us in in their lounge (what do you do with a butler?) and loved our gorgeous large room...no view...but very elegant furnishings, dark hardwood floor, and a lovely bathroom with a footbowl with rose petals, a clawfoot bathtub along with a wonderful shower, etc.

Next am., had our free breakfast on the club floor, (not as nice as in the restaurants but we were in a hurry...took a taxi to meet our "Hidden Hanoi" guide for the Old Quarter walking tour. Had been given the address 11 Hang Gai street, and a helpful shop owner, first helped us cross the street (those of you who've been here now you need a lesson to walk out in front of those zooming motorcycles) and find the address. However, there was a shop there,not a coffe shop as we had been told, and were confused that we'd been given the wrong address...then our guide Ahn, came to our rescue, and took us thru the shop to the secret cafe, which was behind the shop and up stairs...who knew? I think it was called Cafe Pho Coq. Up on the terrace, there was a beautiful view up Hoan Kiem lake...if it hadn't been drizzling.
Ahn was very charming and talked to us about the history of the Old Quarter, typical style of homes....tube style with an open "sky well" in the middle...they're extremely narrow because they were taxed on how much street frontage they had...and how now often 5-8 families live in one home...how they're falling down but no one can sell or fix them up because no one has a property deed...how additions have made them so high because of so many people sharing them, etc. Very interesting.
So, after awhile, we started walking through the old streets...all named after whatever product they were selling on that street...shoes, hardware, etc. And, there are tiny lanes that go back to people's houses...and sometimes people would set up a tiny shop there to make a living...selling water and drinks or some type of street food. I was glad we were with her, because I would have felt intimidated walking thru there...and we were more free to take pictures.

She took us into one restored tube home that used to belong to a wealthy Chinese merchant, that was now a museum. Lovely. Then, we walked thru a narrow lane into a "typical" house now, dreadful...the roof was falling in...horrible "kitchen" with open fire for cooking and a nice woman complaining to her. At the end of the tour, she got us all cyclos (there was only my husband and I on this tour) and older men rode us through the streets on bicycle rickshaws...one per cyclo, it was drizzling, but still fascinating to watch the mass of humanity on bikes, carrying the poles with goods on each side, local markets,etc.
All in all, a great introduction to Hanoi.

We walked back to the Sofitel through the cool and drizzly weather...it actually felt great compared to the heat we'd just been through. We were going to try a local place for lunch, but then decided to eat the lunch buffet at Le Beaulieu, the french restaurant at the hotel. It was very expensive and not worth it.

The cool and drizzly weather made a nap seem like a good idea. Got up for dinner at the Green Tangerine in the Old
quarter...excellent food and charming old house atmosphere.
We had tickets for the Water Puppet show that was only a few blocks from there. We loved the traditional
vietnamese orchestra that accompanied the very entertaining puppets. Great evening and we walked back to the hotel along the Lake....huge trees were festooned with colorful hanging lanterns...magical. Loved watching all the people outside socializing, exercising....escaping their very crowded living quarters.

Day 2: Happy Birthday to me!
Walked back to the Old quarter for some early shopping...liked the little street near the Cathedral.
Then, hopped in a taxi for a ride to our cooking class with Hidden Hanoi. It was really cool today and raining harder.
We were cold as we waited in an outside courtyard for the rest of the class to arrive, who had gone to the market first.
It was just two other American ladies, (one is "Pawleys" from Fodors) and our teacher, Linh. We first went upstairs and Linh talked to us about typical vietnamese foods and cooking...we watched a segment from the movie "The Scent of
green Papaya" then we went back to the kitchen area.
the menu was Sweet & Sour fish soup, Green Papaya salad, fresh spring rolls with pork and prawn, a spicy shrimp dish and tofu with tomato sauce.

we all were assigned a station, and we made just one thing...with help from Linh. We would go to other stations to watch and while I didn't really like this class format
, we had a good time. Linh was very cute and engaging.
Although I didn't think I had eaten that much, I felt very full...and tired.
went back to the hotel to nap again before my big birthday dinner at La Badiane. I was starting to feel poorly, achy, tired and absolutely no appetite.

My husband must have told the hotel that it was my birthday because they brought a lovely large piece of cake to our room. Couldn't touch it so it went in the minibar fridge.
Didn't want to go to dinner...but we went anyway. Could only manage a bite of things...but we enjoyed talking with the only other couple in the room...Americans again who were in Hanoi working for a month. Got home and had chills all night, but that was the worst of it.

to be continued....

Happy Birthday! Sorry you weren't feeling well and hope that your illness didn't carry through to your next day. Can't wait to hear more.

You are the first that I've heard who has actually done the Hidden Hanoi tour. We are going to use the Hanoi Kids, but wonder if we should book both or just wander around ourselves. Can you provide us with their contact info please?

how did you contact hidden hanoi? what do they charge...i'm loving the report

i found them through google

Bob I contact HH also and they were super prompt, i had booked the walking street food tour but had to cancel due to not feeling well. Next time we are in Hanoi i will one of their walking tours, good to see some feedback about them.

Good to see feedback on hidden hanoi - we considered it but couldn't fit in either the cooking class or the walking tour - looking back now, we probably could have...

Has anyone done both the Hanoi Kids and Hidden Hanoi? Wondering how they compare, if we should do both or if it is overkill?

I don't have the contact info on me, but yes, just put them in google and you'll find it. The walking tour was $20 pp from 9:30-11:30...they also have tours of the French area and street food. I thought I might like this better than Hanoi Kids because I'd read some comments that some of the kids' English was hard to understand. Anh spoke very well and was very knowledgeable and personable. However, "Pawleys" told me later (we met up again in Saigon) that she cancelled their walking tour at the last moment. Don't know what happened there. The cooking class was $40 pp and if you wanted the hour market tour it was an additional $10. The class is located further away in the West Lake area. I probably wouldn't do both Kids and Hidden just because I'd like time to myself...however, could have used a good shopping guide!

Barefoot - where are you? We're anxious to hear more!

Sorry dgunbug....I'm in Ubud Bali and I haven't had access to a computer...and been too busy! We're leaving for the states tomorrow so hopefully can continue the saga then. Hopefully, you haven't left for your trip by then. Love Bali altho it's pouring right now...first heavy rain we've seen in 5 weeks.

Not liking hearing about heavy rains. They should be coming when we are in Vietnam. We leave Thurs. Hope to hear from you before then. Otherwise, I'll be interested to hear afterwards and we will compare notes. Have a good flight back.
June