Sailing on a Junk on Halong Bay

Hue Construction site - Health and Safety???

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011 All Rights Reserved

Spotted from my hotel window in Hue, in around the middle of Vietnam ...these guys were constructing a house. Balancing on a bambool pole one guy was hammering a plank. Another guy on the ground was throwing bricks up to another guy on a bamboo pole. No scaffolding, no safety boots or other personal protective equipment - thongs and sandals were the footwear and that seemed to help the workers walk across the bamboo poles.

Some research into health and safety in the construction industry in Vietnam.
http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/article/10.1680/mpal900080

                                           

Children I spotted in Ninh Bing

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved

I was in Ninh Binh for the night and spotted these lovely children enjoying the evening with their mum.

Poor dogs in Vietnam - stuck in a cage or tied to a wall

How can people do this to the poor little dog I spotted in Ningh Bing, stuck in a cage and no freedom.

Another dog, a beautiful husky dog was tied up near the lake in Hanoi, when I saw him, he was chained with little room to move and had no water. The ladies selling purses in the street, told me that he belonged to the shoe shop opposite. I went to suggest that they look after him and at least give him water and they said he was OK. Sitting in the heat, tied up with a chain all day and no water, cruelty to the poor animal. I gave him water when I saw him. Then there was heavy rain and they must have moved him as he was no longer there. I hope that he is OK and getting improvements in his life.

Great hotel in Old Quarter Hanoi - very friendly & helpful staff.

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011 - All Rights Reserved
The friendly driver sent from the Hanoi Emerald Hotel welcomed me with my name on a card, at Hanoi Airport.  Pick up from the airport is a charge service but very helpful when arriving, if you have never been to Hanoi before.

On arriving at the hotel, I was offered a hot cup of tea by staff while I was being checked in and they made me feel really welcome. I used the Hanoi Emerald Hotel as my base in Hanoi and left my large luggage there when I went to Halong Bay and Ninh Binh for trips and overnight stays. The staff are very helpful and very friendly and they are all like a big happy family. The lovely ladies, Hien and Nhung are on reception and they speak excellent English and assist with all guest's hotel and travel needs. 

Hien is a star with assisting tourists and with floral arrangments and there are always some fresh flowers like roses and lillies to welcome you in reception and lobby. Nhung is also very helpful to tourists with their travel plan and a great organiser - she looks after the management of the hotel and kept my lap top safe while I was in Ningh Bin. The wonderful Tuan and Dai assist ed me with my lap top plug in on the ground floor, also with the luggage, breakfast and with anything that needs preparing / fixing.  Dai is always singing (he is a good singer too) and he cooks some exciting meals for the staff too... they all enjoy a meal together like a big happy family. Thanh does the night duty and the wonderful house keeping staff always kept my room sparkling clean

 Staying at the Emerald - it is very conveniently located in old quarter, five minutes from the lake, close to many good restaurants and markets.  The rooms are attractively decorated with paintings and dark wooden furniture, the decor of the room is also very welcoming and comfortable and rooms are quiet.. A really great place to stay in Hanoi.

Thank you everyone for making my stay so great at your hotel.

Carole

Halong Bay - North Vietnam

Halong Bay

By Carole Ann Goldsmith Copyright ©All Rights Reserved

Earl y morning start at 8.00 A.M.,  I am collected from my Hanoi hotel by Michael our tour guide. We have a three hour bus trip ahead with a 20 minute break along the way. Along the way, we pass many rice fields, bright green in the sunlight on both sides of the highway. There are two harvests a year in the north of Vietnam and three in the South. A 20 minute stop next for Ruby Emerald store, where all the products for sale are made by handicapped relatives of Agent Orange victims. Through two generations, relatives of the Agent Orange victims suffer handicaps and some have limbs missing. It is a huge store with handicrafts, sunglasses, wallets etc.

Halong Bay has been designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site for its natural beauty. We arrive at Halong City and there are busses dropping of people everywhere near the wharf .  Michael gives us tickets for the boat and soon we are aboard the Imperial, a dark wood overnight, double storied junk with attractive sleeping cabins.  Within about 15 minutes we are out in the bay and soon we see the towering limestone cliffs and islands in the distance.  Breathtakingly beautiful the magnificent cliffs rising out of the sea, with caves beneath them. Peaceful and a number of sleeping junks on the  sea.

Michael says there are many islands at Halong Bay but only 980 of them have been named.  They are primarily named after their shape.  Lunch was served on the cruising vessel, a magnificent feast  of  selected fine cuisine including chicken with vegetables, tofu in a delicate sauce, vegetables, onion rings, salad, potatoes,  fish, rice, other dishes and fruit to complete the meal.

Limestone caves - The boat is moored and we go ashore to explore Surprise Cave Michael  led the tour through the Surprise cave - as we walked down into the caves enclosure by cobble steps we enter chamber one of the Surprise caves.  The view of the stalactites and stalagmites, splendid in the lit chamber takes my breath away.  We walk the steps to the three chambers of the cave, and Michael points out some of the shapes of the formations.

We kayaked around the bay area for around  thirty minutes and and it was beautiful to be kayacking with the limestone cliffs in the background - At one of the bays we enjoyed kayaking in pairs and I kayaked with Thu who worked on reception at a five star hotel in Ho Chi Mingh.  

Swimming – The junk was stationary in Halong Bay so we swam around  the boat and had to climb so unsafe steps up to the boat. I say unsafe as they were really difficult to hoist myself up on them.

Dinner Food was good – again a great selection of delicious meals.

Karaoke at night after dinner  Karaoke was a lot of fun and we all crooned together, a Polish couple, American men – Roger and Richard, Canadian ladies Ann and Charlene and me.

Michael  suggested that I stay on the boat, rather than go to Cat Ba Island and stay in a bungalow where they would turn the lights off at 9.00 PM and there would be many mosquitoes. So I decided to stay on the boat for the next day and night and wish that I had not changed my plans and had gone to Cat Ba island.

The first day was good but the second was very boring.  Firstly we were told by Michael that we would have to take our luggage off the boat and we protested.  So he called his manager and then he told us that we could keep our luggage on the boat.

So we headed off on a small boat not really sure where we were going and eventually we ended up at the pearl farm where we were shown how pearls are farmed.  Another cruel procedure on creatures of the ocean. Part of the ovary is cut and they implant a small piece on the oyster. This irritates the oyster and they develop the pearl which is 90% calcification.

Then we travelled to a small bay and lunch was served on the small boat near to a fishing area.  Pomme Frites, shellfish, salad, a fish for me, rice, greens, squid and veg. Being alergic to shellfish, the chef cooked me a small fish. Later in the afternoon we travelled to a bay where Kayaks were available and people were invited to get off the boat and either go kayaking or swimming in the sea. I decided to go to Cat Ba Island to see what  I had missed.  On reflection I wish that I had stayed on Cat Ba Island but not in a bungalow but in the hotel.

I am back on the boat and if I ever did this trip again, I would only do one day. But I would never do this trip again.

There were some issues as follows: No safety training when we arrived on board – we were not told where lifejackets or life rafts were. I finally found mine in a cupboard in my room. Treated as a joke when I asked about safety boats and lifejackets on the bus to Halong Bay. Extremely unsafe step from smaller boat to wharf – broken lower wood and wobbled when we stepped on it.  Dirty mat at the foot of stairs No itinerary of what was going to happen during the second day

Told to take luggage off boat and we said no so we were able to leave luggage in cabins until we protested and then told we could.

Michael suggested I not go to Cat Ba as lights go out at 9PM and bungalow would be full of mosquitos. I think that it was just inconvenient to take me there, even though I had paid for the trip and accomodation. Why I was booked in a bungalow by tour company I have no idea. Guys on trip had booked a kayak for trip and kayak not provided for whole day.

Second night staff lighting up a cigarette in the dining room, I had to leave the dining room to avoid having an asthma attack and could not continue talking to the other guests.  I had to spend the whole second night in my room to avoid being exposed to cigarette smoke.  I returned to the dining room and the staff member was smoking again. One staff member said they would not smoke again. Should not have been smoking inside anyway out of respect to paying customers.

Plants upstairs not watered and used as an ash tray. Lots of butts there. Many things in tattered condition.   Filthy mat at bottom of the stairs Only two small safety boats observed on the top deck and they would not be enough for the twenty plus customers.

Regulations for Tourist Boat on Halong Bay – Bai Chai 2008-  sign in room. Be ensured all the safe and favourable conditions for receiving and returning passengers. When ship is anchored and tightened, having leading bridges and learning bays.

Guy on smaller boat walking through the inside of the boat with a cigarette – child and adults inside the boat and one allergic to cigarettes. Person preparing food on smaller boat with a cigarette in his mouth while preparing food.

Extremely unsafe step from smaller boat to wharf – broken lower wood and wobbled when we stepped on it.

We all wanted to go walking on an island and the guide never listened to what we wanted. No walking activities, no itinierary and no one knows what we are doing. 

Would never do this trip again through a tour guide. Would only do privately.  Certainly would not do two days.  The second day was extremely boring and an hour in the morning wasted waiting for the transport boat.

It’s a happy dog’s life for some, for others, it is a living nightmare

By Carole Ann Goldsmith Copy right © 2011 All Rights Reserved

Tying a tiny puppy up on a chain is both cruel and very negative towards the puppy’s growth, learning and quality of life. I saw a tiny puppy maybe six weeks old chained up to a post in Hoi An Vietnam last week.  I called out to the owner and told him that it was cruel. He took no notice. Is this puppy destined to a life of being chained to the post... I hope not. Are there any anti animal cruelty groups in Vietnam. I do not know.

I see dogs free, wandering the street, sitting on the restaurant floor, curled up under the chair, sitting in a hairdressing salon, three little terriers sit on a step – watching the world go by.  

Also in Hoi An, a Scottie type dog, tied up to a post, lying on the ground, unable to move very far. Another with a short lead, with nothing to lie on but rest its head on a concrete sink. Is that its destiny too?

In Dalat, a village 800 km south, I hear a dog barking near the markets, its cries of desperation are unheard by it’s owner – or maybe they just do not care. I see it in the distance, a larger German Shepherd type dog. The chain is short coming from above, the dog is so distressed and frustrated from being tied up, he is repeatedly going around in a circle non stop.... he did that yesterday when I walked past... I wish so much I could let him go, away from this living nightmare.

On the street towards my hotel, there are two cages, I see the tired eyes of two dogs – their life – to stay in the cage... do the owners take them for a walk. I did not see them out of the cage, so I do not know.

I walk further and three dogs are wandering along the street, like they are going out together. They have freedom....Why can’t all animals have freedom and not be chained or in cages.

In Hanoi, I see a tiny tan dog wandering the park behind its owner, free and happy.

The next day, at one of the apartments in the centre of Hanoi - I see a similar tiny dog, on a balcony in a bird cage, barking, calling to be let out of its prison. The owner, a middle age woman, comes out to the balcony and pokes the dog, still in the cage with a thick stick. She then proceeds to shake its cage and turn the cage upside down. I call out to her – No – she stops and goes back inside – is the tiny animal going to suffer this torture all its life.

An elephant beside a monument in Hue, its leg is chained - a short chain, he can only move about 20 cm, a life tied up and never to be free to roam the jungles again. Another elephant is lead around with a man riding it. Also no freedom as it is later chained.

Animals deserve freedom...especially a six week old puppy..chained to a pole, an elephant chained to the ground. Those tying up these poor animals should be tied to a chain themselves to experience the living nightmare.   Set them free – I wish I could!!!!

Excellent Customer Service in Vietnam

By Carole Ann Goldsmith Copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved

Vietnam tourism industry provides excellent customer service, at least that is what I have found on my travels.

From the collection by private car from the airport to your hotel organising all of your tours and travel arrangments to providing delicious breakfasts, wireless internet in your room to opening doors when you enter the restaurant or hotel.

At Hotels: Good hotels will cost you $20 - $30 a night including a great breakfast - often western and Vietnamese. Staff give you very prompt attention and assist you on any aspect of your accommodation or travel that you need. They book you on flights tours, onward hotels, cars to take you to and from the airport, tell you about the restaurants in the area and assist you with your laundry. Internet is free and laundry is low cost around $USA 2.00 a KG. of laundry. The staff open the door when you leave and enter the hotel.

On tours: At a cost of around $USA 10 -18, you are collected from your hotel, taken by airconditioned bus to a range of tourist attractions for the whole day, in the country and city, depending on the tour. Also an English speaking tour guide will be available for the day to provide vital facts, figures and local knowledge of the attractions vsiited. There will often be visits to small local industries, such as silk clothing making, incense making, cricket farms, flower, fruit and vegetable farms, depending on the area. Lunch will usually be included and often you will have tea and local biscuits and cakes, at no charge. The staff at the tea place will certainly try to sell you biscuits and tea and there will always be foods or wares of the area. The bus will either drop you back at your hotel or somewhere convenient so that you can return by foot.

At shops: Staff open the door when you enter and leave, if there are doors. They serve with efficency and a smile.

Restaurants: Staff serve you promptly, food is delicious and prices range from $USA 3 to $10. for an excellent meal.

Enjoy the excellent customer service in Vietnam.

 

Phuong An River Hotel restaurant stars

By Carole Ann Goldsmith Copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved

The stars of Phuong An River Hotel, Gai, Hai, always happy waiting staff and Tho, chef extraordinaire. Tho is a master in food art making any number of vegetables shine with colour and design. He is also a great chef, cooking meals for the hotel guests with enthusiasm and style. Everything which I ate at the restaurant was delicious. Well done Tho, Gai and Hai and many thanks for making my meals and making me laugh.

Thien An - Great place to stay in Dalat

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011  All Rights reserved  

From the moment I stepped in the front door Mr Ahn, the owner of Thien An, welcomed me with a smile. After checking me in, he accompanied me to my room on the fifth floor to explain the facilities and his staff kindly carried my luggage up the stairs.
The room is lovely, spotlessly clean and I had a view of the temple at the back of the hotel. There is a TV, fridge, quite a large room, double bed, plenty of cupboard space and a great bathroom. The room is quiet and the bed, with an atractive doona, is very comfortable and I even managed to find BBC News on the TV.
Free high speed internet / computers are available in the lobby and wi fi in the room if you have your own lap top.
Mr and Mrs Ahn and their nephew serve hotel guests a free breakfast feast every morning. This is an amazing array of tropical fruits, bread rolls, cheese, cooked eggs, vegemite, marmite, peanut butter and jam, yogurt, ham, juice, tea and coffee - delicious.
Mr Ahn speaks English and he is very helpful providing anything you need for your travels, from booking tours, to buses and plane tickets, as well as advising on how to travel to other cities in Vietnam.
It really is like staying with a family in this wonderful hotel and a home away from home. Only a five minutes walk to the centre of town and there are some great restaurants and tours around Dalat - try the country tour.
Thanks very much Mr and Mrs Ahn and staff, I will be back.
cheers
Carole

Art Cafe - Bar and Restaurant a Must See in Dalat, Vietnam

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011  All Rights reserved  

A visit to the Art Cafe bar and restaurant is a must when visiting Dalat, a lovely city located around 300 KM north of Ho Chi Mingh City.

Not only are you treated to fine dining and a selection of both Vietnamese and Western food, you also get to meet the owner and artist, Vo Trinh Bien, if you dine there evenings. Vo Trinh Bien's framed very unique and colourful art and finger paintings adorns the walls of the cafe. He also has a gallery two doors away in the upper level of the Nam Viet hotel, so you can see his art there too.   
  
I had the pleasure of meeting Vo Tringh Bien in his gallery after eating a delicious lunch @the Art Cafe. He told me that he works on his art from 8.00 - 4.30 pm, then spends valuable time with his family. Evenings, he works in the Art Cafe, which is frequented mainly by tourists.

Vo Tringh Bien has been painting professionally for over ten years and has exhibited his art in Hong Kong, Melbourne Australia and across Vietnam. The colourful art is done using syringes to distribute the paint across the canvass. Vo Tring Bien explained that he does the black and white paintings with his fingers.

During the evening @ the Art Cafe, he kindly showed me the process of doing the finger paintings. Then Vo Tringh Bien  presented me with my own original art work that he had just completed. 
Enjoy the delicious meals - western and Vietnamese meals and Vo Tringh Bien's art @ the Art Cafe Bar and Restaurant - opened for both lunch and dinner....70 Truong Cong Dinh Dalat.

Must See - Art Cafe in Dalat

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011  All Rights reserved  

A visit to the Art Cafe bar and restaurant is a must when visiting Dalat, located around 300 KM north of Ho Chi Mingh City.

Not only are you treated to fine dining and a selection of both Vietnamese and Western food, you also get meet the owner and artist, Vo Trinh Bien, if you go there evenings. Vo Trinh Bien's framed very unique and colourful art and finger paintings adorns the walls of the cafe. He also has a gallery two doors away in the upper level of the Nam Viet hotel.   

 I had the pleasure to meet Vo Tringh Bien in his gallery after lunch in the Art Cafe, of succulent chicken, rice and vegetables. He told me that he works on his art from 8.00 - 4.30 pm, spends valuable time with his family and then works evenings in he is frequented a lot by tourists.
He has been painting professionaly for over ten years and has exhite.

Canoeing on Mekong Delta - a highlight of the day

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011  All Rights reserved  

A trip to the Mekong Delta is not complete without a canoe trip along the Delta. Our guides and rowers are ladies in red traditional dresses and hat, they take the helm and let us sit back and enjoy the trip. We pass the mangroves, heavy greenery, palm trees and other boats with their wares on display. After five minutes, we help with the rowing and we look around at the beauty of the area. It is so peaceful and quiet, I hear a rooster crowing and a dog barking from the shore and a lady in her waterhouse waves and we wave to say hello.

We are on the Mekong Delta tour with Mr Hai - Fat Man, that is what he said his boss called him - he is an excellent guide. A visit to the bee farm, I buy some royal jelly as it keeps the Queen bee living 40 times longer than the drone bees so it must be good for me. At the next stop, we also try some coconut candy and see the lady make rice paper over a hot plate from rice and wheat flower and water. Lunch in a grass hut with whole fish, rice, vegetable and meat and a siesta in the hammock after the meal......siesta is always good.

On the way back to Ho Chi Mingh City, we stop at a beautiful garden for some time of peace and serenity....                           

Mekong Delta - Canoing - a highlight of the trip

Canoeing on the Mekong Delta - a highlight of the day

Canoeing on the Mekong Delta - highlight of trip

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2011  All Rights reserved  

Canoeing on the Mekong Delta was one of the many highlights of my trip to the Delta on Thursday. Ladies in traditional red outfits and hat took the helm and rowed us along past the mangroves and greenery surrounding the water ways. People were waving from their houses on the water, I heard  dogs barking and roosters crowing in the distance. Boats passed displaying their wares on a stick at the mast, showing us what they sold.

Mr Hai - Fat Man - that is what he said his boss called him, was our tour guide for the day and an excellent job he did too. From Ho Chi Mingh City, we travelled by bus to the Delta's edge and then by motorboat along the Delta. We visited the bee farm and were shown bees in action. Then to our delight we had tea with honey and lime and the staff encouraged to buy honey goods. I bought some royal jelly  that is supposed to make me younger, if I put it on my skin. According to the folks at the bee farm, the Royal Jelly is food for the queen bee and she lives 40 times longer than the worker / drone bee.  

Then we went to the coconut candy place and a lady was working over the hot plate making rice paper - she mixed rice flour with wheat flour and water and was pouring some of the mixture on the hot plate. Voila after a couple of minutes the rice paper was made and a man was placing it over baskets for drying. Rice paper is used for a number of Vietnamese meals like vegetables and herbs in ricepaper - yum- delicious - I just love Vietnamese food. We also tried some coconut candy - also very tasty but it may extract a few fillings as quite sticky to the teeth.

We rode bicycles to the restaurant. I tried the bicycle, but I was a bit wobbly, so Mr Hai arranged a lift for me on the back of a motor scooter and that was a lot of fun. Lunch was in a grass hut and local fish was grilled or steamed. We had a Tiger beer, the local brand, some rice, meat, vegetables and a light soup. There were hammocks for us to rest in after lunch and that was fun.

On the bus trip back to Ho Chi Mingh City, we had a stop at a beautiful garden and enjoyed icecreams to cool us down on a hot day. All in all a wonderful day and fun for all.

Spring Hotel - Great place to stay in HCMC

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©All rights reserved

The Spring Hotel http://www.springhotelvietnam.com/index1.html in Ho Chi Mingh City (HCMC) is a great place to stay. Right from the first contact on the website, I am greeted by welcoming music. By email to reserve the room, the customer service and efficiency in responding to my emails is excellent. In perfect English, the helpful staff answered all my queries. They also arranged for a driver to collect me from the airport (@ $US16) which is very handy when arriving in a country that you have never been to. Located in District 1, the Spring Hotel is in the centre of town. It is close to the ANZ bank if you need to exchange travellers cheques or use their ATM, also near high end hotels, and to some great restaurants in the same street. On top of that it is only 10 minutes walk to the exciting Ben Thanh market.

On arrival at 10.00 PM on Monday, I am greeted by staff opening the front door and by friendly staff who check me in. A delightful lobby, with orchids in bloom, fresh flowers around and plants, as well as magazines and daily newspapers to read.There is a lovely spiral suitcase that leads to the upper floors and also a lift. There are two laps tops in the lobby for guest's use and free wi fi in your room, if you have your own laptop. The room I am staying in is $US 35.00 per night (plus taxes) and it has a comfortable sized room that I can do my yoga and pilates in each morning. Air conditioning and quiet at night to ensure a good night's sleep, (I asked for a room at the back) double bed, large cupboard with coathangers and a chest of draws for clothing, plus a safe. You can also leave your valuables in the safe at reception. Lovely curtains, lamps, TV and a fridge, loaded with drinks (that you can purchase). Relatively large bathroom with shower and bath, tooth brush, toothpaste, towels etc provided.

Customer service is excellent at the hotel. At breakfast staff provide freshly cut fruit, breakfast made when you order, western and Vietnamese Pho - a bowl of chicken or beef noodle soups and a drink of your choice. The reception staff are very helpful and assist with your bookings such as city tours, Mekong Delta, onward bus travel and hotels.  The door is opened by staff with a smile. Housekeeping staff attend to your room daily and it is always spotlessly clean.

All in all a great economical and convenient place to call home while you are in HCMC.

Ho Chi Mingh City is much more than scooters

Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©All Rights Reserved

Ariving in Ho Chi Mingh City (HCMC) (or Saigon as previously known) on Monday night, I was greeted by a friendly driver from the Spring Hotel where I am staying for a few days. Once on the road, travelling towards downtown HCMC, I see the locals on scooters, everywhere on the road.

There seems to be no rules for scooter drivers with whole families aboard, mum, dad with helmets and baby sitting up the front without a helmet. We drive through the busy streets and the scooters are all around. Horns beep and scooter drivers move through the street all going somewhere.

Welcome to Vietnam Buzz.

Ho Chi Mingh City is more than scooters

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©All Rights Reserved

Arriving in Ho Chi Mingh City on Monday night, I go through customs & immigration and am greeted by a smiling man with my name on a sign - bearing my name and the Spring Hotel where I am staying.