"My little world in the big big World!" hientonkin's Profile

Hanoi-Vietnam is always an adventure for a culture explorer, you can find the moment of your life maybe just by standing at one corner in the Old Quarter. It can the the image the old lady sitting on the low chair with sad eyes, it can be the hard working woman selling noodles from early morning to late evening, or it just can be an angel smile of a baby playing with her father.

Everything can create your moment, including passing WestLake where the lotus ponds are in blossom, take a deep breath and stop for a tea, or strolling down the Flower market early enough to see hundreds of bicycles with flowers at the back heading to the old Quarter.

That makes my day... The smell of lotus, the smell of flowers, the smell of fresh air in such a busy city, the quiet corner. In a second, everything turns into black and white and back to a Hanoi 20 years ago... the time when everyone is on bicycles, cyclos, the time we dont have enough to eat but know how to respect value of life, the time we dont have enough money, but we can share everything we have to our neighbors.

Hanoi may changes quickly, Hanoians also may change their way of thinking and the way they live. Hanoians may not be Hanoians anymore. But in the deep down inside a real Hanoian soul, we know, we still keep the values there for the next generations.

Hanoi 1000 year celebration is coming up in October 10. All news related you can find at Official website of Hanoi : http://en.hanoi.vietnamplus.vn/

On the wall temple - Luang Prabang

Laos is always my favourite country in Asia so far. The country offer a pure feelings that hard to find anywhere else. But hey, who know if Laos is going to change in the next 10 - 20 years? I feel welcomed, i feel safe and i feel relax in Laos. Slow pace living is not a bad thing, especially you are living in the endless circle of works, duties and responsibilities. Though I dont know if I should like Vang Vieng or not. It is something like in Thailand, somewhere to get wild and crazy, but I still think, respect the people and the culture is very important wherever you go.

Of course you cant miss Siemreap. You just basically cant, it has to be in the list somewhere. Angkor Wat is magnificient, no one cant ever say anything different about Angkor. I was very lucky to meet up with Morn Meth, the tuk tuk driver who gave me a ride for 3 days in Siemreap and refused to take money at the end of the trip because " You are my friend" now. I am his first Vietnamese customer. Thanks for Morn, I had a great trip in Siemreap by avoiding the big tour groups time and explore the countryside of Cambodia, see things what people dont normally see by back way, shortcuts.. everything that Morn can think of to take me to. He was a great guy. I maybe can talk about him more than talk about Angkor cause without him, I can never seen Angkor in that way.

If you need Morn number, PM me. He is still in the industry and can read/write latin words now (he only speak Khmer and a bit of English before).

At Harvard library - Boston

It's not that easy for me to get to the USA because the paperworks to get visa.
My first trip was in Aug 2009, beautiful weather in Virginia. We made our way from there to DC and Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, New York then back down to Virginia and Sylvanna. Big and beautiful country.

DC and Boston are my favourite cities. If I ever live there, that will be my choice.
My second trip was in Christmas 2009, heavy heavy snow in history. I asked for snow cause I havent seen snow before, sorry Americans!! It was wonderful trip with all experiences about Christmas and New Year. We had good fun.

And we are planning to come back to see the East coast... Hopefully soon.

In Wadi Rum

Wonderful wonderful country. I dont like Amman that much cause it's not a walking city. But it's fine, you come for Petra. I wish I would never see the picture of Petra before so I can truly enjoy the Treasury.
So funny,most people dont know where is Vietnam. So i said I am from China (make it easier).
We left Petra very late when there almost no tourist around. A local asked us to stop and have sweet tea with them, 2 young boys on a donkey offered me a free ride back to the gate cause they were just having fun around. I should have jumped on the donkey so I didnt have to walk :). The Treasury was amazing at dawn. It was my moment in Jordan.

After reading the " Married to a Bedouin", I felt more about the country and the people. We had a 2 day under the starry sky in the middle of wadi rum, fabulous dinner in the dessert - actually it was the best dinner in Jordan we ever had.
Beside Great Petra, Dana National park - should not miss once you are in the area. A great long rewarding trek in Dana and stay in one of the small hotel was amazing.

And please, dont wear super short short and tiny top (almost like bras) to Petra, I can tell how the local eyes' hate you....

Paraglyding

Everyone knows about Thailand... I am not particularly into Bangkok or big famous beach area cause it's too crowded and too industrial.. PLus i am not into girls or ladyboys so.. hey, i want a quiet place. I will come back to the country soon to find my moments here. Look forward to doing it.

Yangshuo

China is still waiting for me to come back cause I was only in Guilin area. Yangshuo and Longji Terraces are worth visiting. Especially from Vietnam, you can easily get the train ticket to Nanning and from there to Guilin.
beautiful limestones and i love the town so much. Hotels are cheap and clean. Chinese food is great.
The greater thing was we hired the motorbike to go from Yangshuo to Longji Terraces, the scooter is not strong enough (cause foreigner cant hire the real motorbike anyway) and we had such an experience on the way from Guilin to Longji, beautiful scenery though. Great trek in Longji Terraces too.

City of cats

Kuala Lumpur, somehow, is my favourite big city in Asia so far. Maybe because of the trees on the boulevard that makes me feel better than all high buildings.
Taman Negara is worth a visit for 2 days too with another day in Melaka.