Thailand – Floating Market Food

Posted on December 25, 2010July 28, 2017 by patrice

Floating Market

One of the places we visited was a floating market that we seemed to be about the only white people at. It was way cool. Look at this picture closely.

Just off the picture to the right were many rows of people waiting for food and eating food that was / is prepared by these boats. What I wanted to show here was the boats and what is being cooked and how.

If you look closely you will see at the bottom of the picture a lady grilling whole scallops in the shell midway up you will see a lady grilling whole squid or calamari. Another detail to take note of is, under the sign you see what looks like a plate or pan with a long, very long, rod attached to it. Do you know what it is for? Tic tic, time is up… They place the ordered food into the pan and use the stick to give it to the people that ordered it. They in turn put money in the plate for the person that cooked the food. The young lady you see sitting down facing the boats helps in that process also.

If you haven’t noticed already…on the boats are tanks of propane used to cook with or, they have charcoal for the grills to cook the food on. Think they could do it that way in the states? I don’t think so, but it is so very common here. We like it.

Hanoi Hotel Review – Hanoi Lake View Hotel

Posted on December 23, 2010June 25, 2011 by patrice

Link: Hanoi Lake View Hotel

The first thing that comes to mind about this place is…Five Star Service!

We stayed at this hotel for several days and then took a side trip and came back for a few more days and so enjoyed our stay there. The staff is absolutely fantastic and ready to help you with anything you need.

Rooms are clean and the food at the breakfast is good too. But the great staff, everyone of them, is what really makes this place great. We could bore you with details of what they did to help us and take care of us but why waste the space with details you can find out for yourself if you stay there. I know we will be staying there the next time we go to Hanoi.

China – Shanghai Nights

Posted on November 25, 2010July 28, 2017 by patrice

Shanghai at night

I know the title almost sounds like a Jackie Chan movie doesn’t it. Well it isn’t, it is a picture taken from our hotel room, and what great nights there are in Shanghai too. Ok the days are pretty good too. We even got to the highest points in Shanghai too, the Pearl Tower that you see in the picture. We will have to put in a shot or two in the pictures section when we get a chance for you to appreciate the view from there.

It stays all lighted up until 10:30 pm and if you come here – do a river tour in the evening. They are about an hour or so but there are some amazing views from the river too. We did notice that all the tour boats have more lights on them than a Xmas tree, but the local boats / ships seem to lack any lighting. Our tour boat came up on a barge that had no lights on it. Even with repeated horn blasts the barge just lumbered along. Finally the barge moved out of the way – not by much though.

So that is the short version of Shanghai. We hope to get some time to put in reviews of the hotel and the like when we get a bit more time. So stay tuned…

Vietnam – Tam Coc

Posted on November 25, 2010July 28, 2017 by patrice

Tam Coc, Vietnam

OK! So the picture looks small! It is a Panorama and this was a way to give a broader idea of what this place is like. They call this place the “wet Halong bay”, go figure that one. Halong is on the ocean and this is up a river with a marsh on both sides. Doesn’t that make them both wet? Like DUH!

It was an amazingly quiet trip being rowed by this little Vietnamese lady. But, she needed an Oscar for her performance on trying to get tips. Be very aware of this on any tour there. Her hands hurt, (note she rows this same route everyday); She was thirsty, (we bought her a drink that she didn’t open and kept until the end); She had a ships container of wares to sell us, (I don’t think so); You get the idea. Just remember, no matter how sweet and friendly they are, they are searching for the best tip they can get.

It take about 2 hours to go up the river and back but it is so very much worth it. We even saw Goats up high on the cliffs too.

Vietnam – Halong Bay

Posted on November 25, 2010July 28, 2017 by patrice

I know another tiny picture – but it is a Panorama. Look at it do you think you could get a sense for this place with a regular shot? I don’t think so.

After climbing up to “Tippy Top” I felt like Mount Everest would be a cake walk. There were many that turned back, to faint hearted to make the climb to the top. But fear not, this roving reporter will go to great lengths to let you know what is going on and what is worth the effort.

Even with a panorama shot this place really isn’t shown like it should be. What a pretty place it is to see.

: HaLongP doc

: Halong Bay Sunset

Yes the elements were endured to stay up on top to give you a view of the sunset. I think it was worth it too.

Enuf said 🙂

You need a visa BEFORE you an travel to Vietnam – its easy to do this ahead of time. I found this place http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/ for visa on arrival. Quick and fast – but make sure you have it done before you leave.

Vietnam – Stairway to Heaven

Posted on November 25, 2010July 28, 2017 by patrice

Stairway to Heaven

I know we haven’t been around the last few days but there have been a number of good reasons, and now that we have Internet again we can get a few updates in too. I know exciting isn’t it.

We went to the Perfume Pagoda a pleasant little jaunt outside of Hanoi; by car for an hour and a half then another hour by row boat then start climbing. It such a pretty place it is worth the trip, and as you can tell it is a trip getting there and we haven’t even gotten to the Pagoda. We took the cable car up to the Pagoda, a seven minute ride, and once we walked near to the Pagoda we were rewarded with two of the longest staircases in the entire world! You can trust me on that one for sure.

After going down, and no I am not going to describe what we saw, you will have to see it for yourself, but…By the time we came out and I reached the last staircase, you see it in the picture, like a flash the words to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” started running through my head. Low and behold I had an epiphany, I completely understood the song as I looked up the staircase you see in the picture!

Now just imagine, you are huffing and puffing after climbing up and down about 3 Gazillion stairs. On top of that you are dripping with sweat like you just stepped out of a swimming pool and you look up and see the last staircase with the warm glow of soft sunlight at the top… ok you got the picture now. Wouldn’t you have an epiphany too? Like yeah!

As I panted trying to regain my breath and when I looked at the top of the Staircase it had this almost heavenly glow like you were about to have a spiritual connection. Well ok, it could have been that I was about ready to pass out from the heat and all the climbing. But I prefer not to think about that aspect. To me it was all about the song and the spiritual connection. You believing my story so far?..