Holidays are Upon Us

As everyone in the US celebrates Thanksgiving, the holiday season starts. Every year, many people buy beautiful poinsettas to decorate churches, homes and holiday shopping displays. During a Saturday afternoon walk in our new neighborhood, I saw a lovely TREE with bright red blossoms. It was a Poinsetta!! Here you see the tree overhanging the lane. Above a closeup with a pretty butterfly. There is an abondance of very large and different types of butterflies in Hanoi.

You will also notice the multitude of electric wires. This is very common here. Apparently when a house gets hooked up to the circuit they add a wire. When something goes wrong, they add another wire. But don't take down the old wire. The result is a ton of wires that useless and forgotten. I read somewhere that over 50% of the wires are unclaimed. The city has asked people to claim the wires that they use. They plan to put all city center wires underground by 2010. The other interesting wire fact is that 4 men were sentenced to 21 years combined for stealing some of this wire and selling it for scrap. The conviction was basically a crime against the state as the wires are property of the government owned electric company. They are useless and unclaimed, but don't think that you can just take them!

Random Shots

Here are a few shots from the streets of Hanoi.

Ladies hanging out in front of what is called an Art Shop, but apparently sells everything but. They were having some sort of hair styling session. Check out the tiny plastic stools. These are very common on the sidewalks of Hanoi.


This is the side of some official building in the old quarter. The colors are really nice.



Apparently bicycles have been replaced by scooters and motorcycles as the transportation mode of choice. It is amazing what can be hauled on the back, front or footrests of these things. "La Vie" is the brand of locally produced drinking water.

Imagine the hustle and bustle of the picture above (honking the horn replaces turning signals, traffic lights and slowing down for all drivers here). Now contrast it with the serenity inspired by the photo below. Just on the other side of the portico is a little haven of greenery and meditation.

Finding a House

Our arrival in Hanoi has been an easing into life in Hanoi. We are starting out with a month in a serviced apartment in a very nice complex near the lake Ho Tay, Sedona Suites.

Complete with a pool, tennis courts and friends for the boys, life here is pretty easy.

Our plan is to spend this haitus looking for a house while waiting for our household goods to arrive from Dubai.

We looked at about 15 houses. Apparently there is a season for househunting in Hanoi, and this isn't it. The district we are looking at is Tay Ho which is located in the northern peninsula of the Ho Tay (West Lake) lake. The hotel is located in this area and it is a popular place for expats (European and American) to look for houses.

The houses are generally very tall and narrow - 3 to 4 stories with very high ceilings. The architecture is very much Euro-inspired. Combined with the luxurious vegetation that is possible here, the result can be very beautiful. This picture was taken at one of the nicer parts of the lakeside.

After visiting many houses, each with their special brand of "no way will we live here", we found the perfect place.

A small (relative to huge) house with views of the lake from every room, beautiful palms in the front yard, and very close to our beloved Sedona Suites, where we can join the club to take advantage of the amenities. I've met the current renters who have nothing but good things to say about the neighborhood, the landlords and the house. So we are very excited.

Our things arrive just in time for our Dec. 1 moving date.

For all Google earth afficianados, go to coordinates: Lat. 21° 3'38.25"N, Long. 105°49'9.41"E. That's our house's exact spot. The area is called Xom Chua.

Click around and look at the pictures provided. They give an excellent idea of the area.
This photo is taken from the small square lake just south of our house. Our house is directly behind the large house on the left. The vegetation in the foreground hides several small houses and gardening shelters. Our landlord lives in one of those. On the map you will notice green areas to the east of us. These are orchards where manderines, bananas and lord knows what else are grown. Very bucolic!