There’s one problem though, as some other restaurants are riding on its fame with similar name and menu to take advantage of naive foreign travellers, and I was one of the fallen prey of the conspiracy during my Hanoi trip in July 2008…

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Cha Ca grilled fish, Hanoi, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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Halong Bay, Vietnam – random photos (2) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The limestone cave is now heavily developed for tourism, with granite pavements and coloured-lighting beautifying the cave. The nature elements of the cave seems pretty well preserved though, hopefully the in-flock of tourists won’t cause too much harm.

Photos from my July 2008 visit, including an aerial view of the iconic Bo Hon Bay which often featured on travel magazines and postcards…

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Sung Sot Cave, Halong Bay, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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Halong Bay, Vietnam – random photos (1) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Tomb for the rich and high ranking people in the Cotu society

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Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi – outdoor exhibits from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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Floating village, Halong Bay, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Halong Bay has become an international travel hotspot in recent years; there must be more than 200-300 junks and cruises that depart daily from the port, with thousands of travellers visiting the destination each day.

The weather was perfect during my July 2008 visit. My guide told me that the clear blue sky are normally seen only for two-three weeks in one whole year. Sounds exaggerated, but my Hanoi friends later reaffirmed the statement… one of them had been to Halong for five times and had never seen such a clear weather. Lucky me :)

Some photos from the seaport and first glimpse of Halong Bay…

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First glimpse of Halong Bay, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Hue City

Huế is a historic city in central Vietnam and was the imperial capital of Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). Hue is located about 1100km from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s capital city. It took about 25 hours of bus ride to travel from HCMC to Hue.

Complex of Hue Monuments

The Complex of Hue Monuments is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the complex comprises of 16 historic monuments from the Nguyen Dynasty. Among the monuments that featured in The Amazing Race Asia were the Khai Dinh Tomb, Minh Mang Tomb and Hue Citadel (the pitstop).

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Amazing Race Asia 3 – Ep 3 – Hue from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Mae Kompong

Mae Kompong is a village in Chiang Mai Province. Once a poppy growing area, but now home to a small community of forest dwellers who cultivate tea and coffee plantations.

Mae Kompong is also home to the Treetop eco-tourism village where visitors can take an exhilarating flight (with zip line and slide) through a 1500 year-old rainforest in the “Flight of the Gibbon” adventure…

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Amazing Race Asia 3 – Ep 2 – Chiangmai to HCMC from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The restaurant was quite cozy, and the food decent. Not my favourite Hanoi restaurant, but if you can only have one meal in the city… this is probably the place you want to be because of the great varieties.

Spring rolls, roast pork, rice wrappers and herbs

Quan An Ngon Restaurant, Hanoi, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Sharing some photos below, taken inside the museum building…

Chinese stuff in Vietnamese culture

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Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi – indoor exhibits from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The photo above was taken at the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. You know you won’t have a good chance to see this in real life when you can find this in a museum lol.

Would be cool if I could just catch this once in real action… will have to wait until I visit Vietnam again, perhaps years later. Chances are getting even slimmer in future though, as the feat will gradually fade away altogether.

Hanoi’s cargo-load bicycle from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Didn’t manage to drip the coffee myself when I was in Hanoi in July 2008; the cafe I visited served the well-prepared drink instead (pic).

My sister who tried some coffee in Hanoi prior to my visit told me that Vietnamese coffee was stronger than common espresso… can’t agree on that, at least not with the one I had. A decent glass of coffee though… smooth, thick and rich.

Vietnamese ice-milk coffee in Hanoi from YeinJee's Asian Journal

There are a few variations of pho depending on the regions in Vietnam. The pho in Hanoi is called phở Hà Nội or phở bắc (northern pho), which is normally served with green onions; while the other regions are using different herbs instead.

A new found friend brought me to one of the locals’ favourite to try the pho when I was in Hanoi in July 2008. The place is Pho Thin, located at 13 Lo Duc St.

The restaurant was packed on the Saturday morning. The customers were sitting shoulder to shoulder while some others lining up for their seats. It’s not difficult to understand the crowdiness after tasting the pho, because it was really good.

The rice noodles were smooth and chewy, and the broth was rich in flavour despite looking mild and clear… and their chillies were nice too. Simplicity to its best.

Pho Thin Restaurant, Hanoi, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The water puppet shows are predominantly in Vietnamese (language) and showcase the folklores and legends in Vietnam. Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre near Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi is probably the most famous place to watch the show.

I was lucky to get a seat during my Hanoi tour in July 2008, as there was only a few seats left when I purchased the ticket. It’s advisable for future visitors to get the tickets early in the day before going to the show in the afternoon/evening.

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Water puppet show, Hanoi, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The Old Quarter is also called the 36 Streets… probably the number of streets when the French started to rebuild the area in the 19th century.

These days there are probably more than 40 streets in Old Quarter; most of the streets are quite short and could be easily navigated on foot… but I was a bit lazy to walk as the summer heat was killing me. I decided to try the cyclo ride instead, which cost me about US$4 for an hour of touring around the area…

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Cyclo tour in Old Quarter, Hanoi, Vietnam from YeinJee's Asian Journal