New Video: Kids at Long Beach on Phu Quoc Island
While driving along Long Beach on the west coast of Phu Quoc Island we encountered some very charming kids. Here’s a video clip from our motorbike trip that day.
Goodbye Ho Chi Minh City
Festive Ho Chi Minh City
Last night, while dancing at a stylish club to celebrate our last evening in HCMC, I heard from Philip why he loves this city so much, “Saigon just has magic, it draws you to it and you just can’t leave.” Like many other expats living here, Philip is enjoying the rapid changes and overwhelming modernism that has swept this city. Visiting here again after 6 years, I find that there are hardly any cyclos but double the amount of motorbikes and a lot of cars everywhere. Tall buildings are being erected in city center, featuring a gym, spa and other luxury amenities to a nouveau riche population. Fancy new malls have sprung up in addition to upscale stores scattered all around selling gourmet chocolate, haute couture and expensive jewelry. Countless new cafes and outdoor restaurants offer excellent meals, some of the best I have had in a while in a charming and laid back atmosphere.
Journal: Monday, Jan 14, 2008
We were in the mood for some pho in the morning and drove into town searching for a place serving that wonderful morning dish. It seems pho is not as popular here as it is in HCMC and we ended up having baguette with egg. We drove once again to Vietnam Airlines and this time we got lucky-we were able to get tickets for a flight back to HCMC for the following day! Although we could have easily stayed on the island for another 2 weeks, we were relieved that we won’t need to spend a whole day journeying back by boat and bus.
Journal: Friday, Jan 11 2008
Riding around Phu Quoc Island
We rented a bike and drove to Duong Dong, the island’s main town. We decided to check with Vietnam Airlines office across from the airport if there were any available seats flying back to Saigon. So far there are none and we may have to stay here forever.
Over the Bridge
Route Map for Our Day Trip Outside Hanoi
Hanoi feels like combination of several different cities all rolled into one: The Old Quarter and the Hoan Kiem Lake, the business district with its new high-rises, the beautifully scenic and residential West Lake area as well as several major avenues and circles with major landmarks, for example, Hanoi’s opera house or the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
Many tourists who visit Hanoi don’t realize how drastically everything changes as soon as one ventures just outside of Hanoi. Our friend, Aryeh, took me out on an informal bike tour (motorbike) during my brief visit to Hanoi last year. I enjoyed it so much that I really wanted to do it again but this time with Tamar. Aryeh was kind enough to hook us up with his friend Marc, who lives in Hanoi. Marc is an avid mountain biker who’s been living in Hanoi for 4 years and is very familiar with all of the trails surrounding the city. He also thought it would be fun to take a trip, with a motorbike for a change, to see a site or two that he’d wanted to check out for some time.
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