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This Post Brought to You by a Total Disregard for Intellectual Property Rights

by Brian on January 7, 2015 in Asia, Vietnam

The most remarkable thing about the Water Puppet Show in Hanoi, Vietnam, was the way in which absolutely nobody cared if you photographed it or even shot video.

The performance itself, one of the “must do” attractions in Hanoi, was only vaguely interesting. It’s an hour long display of an art form originally developed by rice farmers as a way to entertain one another after their fields flooded. Staged in a pool of waste-deep water, wooden puppets (controlled via submerged poles manipulated by puppeteers hidden behind a screen) act out tales of rural Vietnamese folklore.

A Day in Ha Long Bay

by Shannon on January 5, 2015 in Asia, Vietnam

“The police are behind us. Jump on!” I heard from over my shoulder as we leapt through the doors of the still moving mini-bus.

The driver’s offense: idling in Hanoi city traffic. No officers gave chase, though, and we settled into our seats and set out with a small group on an overnight outing to scenic Ha Long Bay in northeast Vietnam.

Several hours later, after a honking-filled ride along highways chaotic with traffic, through dusty small towns, and past watery rice fields, we got our first look at Ha Long Bay’s dramatic hallmarks—limestone pillars rising from the water and mostly shrouded in mist. We knew we were rolling the dice by coming to this striking spot in December, which is the start of Vietnam’s winter. In fact, several days earlier, severe rain storms had forced tourists back to Hanoi shortly after making the lengthy trip out to Ha Long Bay. Read More…

Tis The Season

by Brian on December 31, 2014 in Asia, Travel

For professional portraits, apparently.

All over Vietnam we saw couples and what appeared to be recent graduates dressed to the nines with professional camera crews in tow in scenic spots like Hoi An’s riverfront and Hanoi’s Temple of Literature. It was quite nice, actually.

We intruded just a little to sneak a few photos of our own. I hope they don’t mind. Their presence added such a wonderfully personal and totally joyous context to the places we were visiting. We were happy to share these brief moments with them, however distantly. We really wish them all the best.

Where to Eat in Hanoi

by Brian on December 29, 2014 in Asia, Travel, Vietnam

Typical sidewalk restaurant in Hanoi

Travel in Asia is all about the food. At least it has been for us. And nowhere have we found ourselves so overwhelmed with dining options than in Hanoi, Vietnam. It’s hard to take a step in the city’s old quarter without passing someone cooking up something wonderful. Deciding from which of the many food shacks, sidewalk stalls, and sit-down restaurants to sample is the hardest choice we typically faced on any given day.

Making matters worse, restaurant review sites like Tripadvisor and Yelp aren’t terribly helpful here. We’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with those sites anyway. But in Asia they have the added challenge that many of the best eateries don’t have western names, or even any names at all.

You won’t find a review on Tripadvisor for the lady spooning up Pho Ga from some random alley because there really isn’t any way to add her to the site. What you will find instead are reviews for a bunch of larger establishments with identifiable names and addresses. They may not serve the best food, but they are popular among the westerners who use Tripadvisor.

Because of that dynamic we spent a lot of time trolling through alternative sources of information like blogs, travel articles, and local recommendations to find the best places to eat in Hanoi. We don’t offer this as a definitive list, but these are the best places we sampled during our week-long Hanoi food odyssey.

Why we don’t (always) haggle

by Brian on December 26, 2014 in Asia, Travel

A seemingly travel-wise road warrior once told us to “never accept the first price you’re offered in South East Asia. Everything here is negotiable. I just don’t understand why some people won’t haggle.”

We’ve come to a bit of a different conclusion. Perhaps a story is the best way to explain.