Tagged With "Hanoi"
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
What an amazing trip! A real reminder of when few traveled and it was not a packaged experience. I wish I had the guts to do a trip like this. Thank you for sharing it! Do you think with Burma more open these days things will change much, or will people like me show up in the cities and still not go where you went?
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
A fascinating journey and, I think, very well suited to the younger crowd. Thanks for sharing this story with us. I felt like I was on that ride with you!
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Thanks FlashFlyer. The thing about adventures like this is you have no idea what an adventure it'll be until it happens and you can't get out of it even if you want to. So, no guts required. Yes, Burma will certainly change, has already. Currently not enough infrastructure for those wanting to visit but if you've traveled in Asia you know the entrepreneurial spirit is alive & well and it won't be long, I suspect, before it will come to resemble other parts of the region. So, good news as...
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
I hope that wasn't your last venture into third world high speed travel. Reminds me of Austria on the Zillertal Bahn Valley Railway. The Train went so slow that passengers would lean out and pick wild flowers from the trackside. Each carriage had warning notices - in English - not to do this. But ....
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
If I live it won't be my last. Just prior to that one, same trip, I'd gone from Guilin to Nanning, then after lunch got on another, overnight to Hanoi. Later overnight again, Hanoi to Hoi An. Now that I think about it I realize they got progressively worse as I went along, culminating in The Worst. I hadn't thought about it until just this minute, hindsight is a wonderful thing that way. A great disappointment to me several years ago was the apparently permanent cancellation of the Hanoi to...
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
That's a real cool story, PortMoresby! I like my wheels to rubber, not steel, but what a great trip!
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
My brother says that he would love to travel to countries like this. He says it would be really cool to travel on a train like this. I think I'm more of a Europe guy, but it would be a really cool experience to go on a train like that.
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
It isn't cool to travel on a train where you get thrown around in the carriage because the tracks are warped with age John ! Many journeys take 24 hours of hanging on like a Roller Coaster ! That's just in Asia. You'll be fine in Europe.
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Fascinating read! If I do take this train trip, and it's currently included in the plan, for our hoped for trip to Mynamar later this year, I can't say I wasn't warned. Coming from a country that shakes, rattles, and rolls pretty much every day there were two things about the earthquake that worried me. First, it was big enough to produce screams!! Second, it seems that no-one bothered to check the tracks before the train left the station. And so as I was reading I expected a derailment -...
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Jill, one thing I didn't think to say when I wrote this report is, consider buying 2nd class seats. I could see into the next car, as it swayed in the opposite direction from ours, and it was fitted with wooden benches, presumably bolted down and consequently a less harrowing ride. It may be more crowded but also more interesting.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 3, 2014: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi
I too am a fan of Colonial era hotels. The only ones I've ever stayed at were in Sri Lanka where, at the time, they weren't much more than a night at a Howard Johnson's. When you make your way to Sri Lanka, PortMoresby, check out some that island has to offer. You might be pleasantly surprised. Sri Lankan people I interacted with actually were quite grateful overall for the contributions the British made to their island -- tea plantations, roads, railroads, and government. And, of course,...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 3, 2014: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi
22 April 2014. A British woman has been arrested and is facing deportation in Sri Lanka over a Buddha tattoo on her arm. Naomi Michelle Coleman, 37, was taken into custody at the airport in Colombo, after she arrived from India. Ms Coleman, who has a tattoo of a Buddha seated on a lotus flower on her right arm, was arrested for ‘hurting others' religious feelings,’ a police spokesman said. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...n.html#ixzz30hahG27Y Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter |...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 3, 2014: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi
That's an interesting link, GarryRF, because Sri Lankans tend to be pretty mellow about most things. Still, being disrespectful (or perceived as disrespectful) to Buddha is frowned on and not tolerated by the Sinhalese majority. As many know, it is considered very disrespectful to show too much skin in a Buddhist temple or shrine (no bare shoulders or legs). You won't be allowed admittance to the shrine unless you cover yourself. I believe this woman offended these customs. But this POD is...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 3, 2014: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi
My daughter was in Vietnam a year ago on her honeymoon DrF. She would visit the local Churches - as these were often pieces of exquisite architecture. On occasions outside Christian Churches she would recognise the tune of a Hymn - and while staying outside - she would sing along ! Yes - I know - a little crazy and religious too ! Communist countries don't outlaw religion, its just tolerated. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo by my daughter) She has a list of good and...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 3, 2014: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi
Thanks for that note, GarryRF. Ask your daughter to share her information with all of us! A short post about her trip on TravelGumbo would help many out!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
I suspect "stabling" refers to the train being at the station -- like horse returning home. But I love the sense of mystery and imaging you did to, PM! Nothing quite as much fun as a terrible translation!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
With a waiting room like that, I've not sure I'd care to leave and get on the train...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
I'd definitely get on that train. My curiosity about what badly translated signs are out there would get the best of me.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
I wouldn't dream of occupying while stabling in the train rest room, but in the waiting room? I thought that's what they were for. A wise man, or FaMale, should know better than to leave a nice comfortable clean place and get on a train in some parts of the world. It was a lesson it took me several trains to learn on that trip.
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Re: May 6, 2016: In Hanoi's Old Quarter
Feels like I'm right in the picture...and maybe Hanoi just got on MY bucket list!
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Re: May 6, 2016: In Hanoi's Old Quarter
Thank you, I really recommend staying in the Old Quarter.
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May 6, 2016: In Hanoi's Old Quarter
The Grey Traveller visits Hanoi, long on her bucket list, and falls so in love with it that it now heads a new bucket list of "where to go back to."
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Re: A Street Food tour in Hanoi
Thanks for a great (virtual) meal! I love street food (and near-street) and just enjoyed a similar experience in Istanbul, where I put aside my "issues" with some foods and tried all...including my equivalent of the worm: kokorek, a dish of lamb or goat intestines roasted around sweetbreads. It's amazing how much of our hesitation can be in our heads, not in reality... Hope to see more about Vietnam!
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Re: A Street Food tour in Hanoi
That sure looks like a tasty evening, Linn! I've done a few food tours in my life and really enjoyed them. The guides know where the great spots are and you get a nice background narrative about the dish, the restaurant and the chef! Thanks for sharing this with us.
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Re: A Street Food tour in Hanoi
Thank you both for the feedback. I really think tasting the local food is an important part of the travel experience, even though I then have to taste a few strange things... And usually, I end up being pleasantly surprised that the thinks I was hesitating to taste, actually was really good. Heading to Thailand tomorrow, and I am sure I will be challenged a few times during my two weeks there :-)
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Hanoi, Vietnam
Judy Barford risks life and limb to capture shots of the traffic chaos that is Hanoi.
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Re: Hanoi, Vietnam
I agree that Hanoi has done a far better job of preserving its best than Ho Chi Minh City. Great place to visit.
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Hanoi’s Stately Buildings
Barry Barford looks at some architectural gems in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
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Re: Hanoi’s Stately Buildings
Your post brought back memories of my own visit to this enchanting city! Thank you!!
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Street Scenes in Hanoi
Barry Barford continues ambling around the streets of Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.
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Re: Street Scenes in Hanoi
Thanks, Barfords. The ultimate test, I could easily live in Hanoi.
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Soaking Up the Culture in Hanoi
Barry Barford concludes his tour of Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.
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Re: Soaking Up the Culture in Hanoi
The experiences that make a good trip great! Thanks, Barry!
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The Worst Train in the World
The earthquake should have been a clue. But having rather enjoyed the ride, as I have since childhood in an earthquake-prone part of the world, it didn't occur to me that it might be a warning. I should have listened.
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
My trip by train from Nanning, China to Hanoi, Vietnam transpired years after my first plan to travel between the 2 countries was thwarted by a landslide that covered the tracks between Kunming, in Yunnan Province, and Hanoi.
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Heritage House, Hanoi Old Quarter
One of the benefit’s of less planning and more wandering is finding places that seem to have been missed by the guidebooks. The Heritage House is one of those, although I now see my Lonely Planet Vietnam guide is almost as ancient...
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A Street Food tour in Hanoi
Hanoi is full of street food stalls, so we decided to learn where and what to eat from the local professionals. We booked a guide from Hanoi Street Food Tours , and Tu got us started from the moment we met. He is the writer of the food blog Vietnamese...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 3, 2014: Metropole Hotel, Hanoi
I’m a huge fan of colonial ambiance. I speak of an esthetic and not the politics of colonialism. I love the way buildings look that were built by Europeans in their colonies.