Scenes of Hanoi

When driving or strolling around in Hanoi, you would not fail to see some amazingly interesting buildings. Many are narrow, and quite a few are quite tall. The building owners are taxed based on the measurement of the front of their house. Therefore in a bid to reduce taxes, the house owners tended to build houses that have very narrow fronts, but to have sufficient space for the whole family, they built upwards and set up their shops on the ground level.

Another great feature of the houses here are the colors. Probably due to the influence of their previous French colonial masters, the houses here sport bright yellow, brilliant blue and even green facades.

If you take a look at the buildings, you will see that many have nice terraces and balconies with ornamental balustrades and windows with wooden shutters-which gives the place a very European feel and charm, of course, it is with a Vietnamese twist. :)

Opera Night

We enjoyed a great night at Hanoi Opera House with music from Johann Strauss, Giuseppe Verdi, and George Gershwin. Constructed by the French in 1911, it is based on the Opéra Garnier (the Paris Opera House) and located in the center of the French Quarter of Hanoi. The building and its interiors are one of the best examples of the beautiful architecture in Hanoi.

Bikes or Burden?

The motorbikes are a special character of Hanoi. You will find TONS of them everywhere and sometimes their load is unbelievable: from 4 people (including just born babies), to live pigs and chickens, and all kinds of home furnishings and electronics. It is fun to watch, but better not get on their way :)

The Real Taste of Hanoi

The food scene is very interesting, not only the restaurants are great and diverse but the street food is fantastic. You can enjoy authentic Vietnamese specialties with Hanoi Beer for less than U$2 in the little street stalls. We learned this is one of the best places to eat like the locals do!

The open-air markets are an experience apart - beside selling a lot of weird food - water snakes, dog meat, live chickens, dried seafood - the food is handled without any special care. The mixture of strong sights and scents sometimes requires a strong stomach : )

Hanoi - Vietnam

The capital of Vietnam is a romantic blend of "old" Asia and French heritage, Hanoi doesn't disappoint. In the other hand, it can also be intense: the traffic is chaotic, pushy street vendors are everywhere, and you need some guts (or a few days in the city) to learn how to cross the streets. A walk around the Old Quarter is always an adventure!

You will either love it or hate it. We loved it!

Singapore

This was a short stop...a LOT more "westernized" and much more expensive than its neighbors that we visited.

Mentawai Surfing

I felt like a little kid at Disneyland...the combination of different waves, swell size and direction is the best I've ever seen! HT's Lances Right, in front of our hotel, is a fast and SHALLOW perfect right. One of the best barrels that I've ever enjoyed in my life! There was also Lances Left across the hills...a LONG, perfect left that breaks smoothly in a outstanding reef - a fantastic way to fine tune the backside turns. Finally, with a boat, you have another 20+ surf breaks hours away.

If you ever considered this trip, don't think twice! Alex

Katiet Village

Here in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a community without any roads, police and largely egalitarian in political social structure. Its food systems are mostly pristine and free from any unnatural additives.
In Katiet, men and women spend their days in the fields harvesting cash crops like copra and cloves, while children attend the local school. The population is just a few hundred in Katiet, but their smiles are still contagious. :)

Mentawai lifestyle

We stayed in the island of Sipura in the Katiet Villa Resort. Our days consisted of 2-3 surfing sessions, 3 delicious meals, LOTS of reading, swimming pool, mosquito repellent, occasional fishing and, of course, Bintang Beer.

Off to Mentawai Islands

It was not easy nor cheap to get there, but we decided to GO FOR IT : ) It was ALL worth it!!!!! The Mentawai Islands are a chain of about seventy islands and islets off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Siberut (4,030 km²) is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North and South Pagai.

The islands lie approximately 150 km off the Sumatran coast, in other words, a 10 hour boat trip from Padang across the Mentawai Strait.