—– Original Message —–
From: Catherine Moscato
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 7:24 PM
Subject: re Vietnam trip for Moscato’s family
Dear Mrs Phuong Lien,
I really enjoyed Vietnam , its inhabitants, its culinary traditions and its handicrafts. You are very talented indeed and I hope that you will keep up this handicraft making as I believe that tourists are after good quality wares and very much saturated by the Chinese poor quality goods flooding the markets in general.
Please make a note of the following: Cinnamon hotel in Hanoi is a fabulous little place, very well located , extremely friendly staff always pleasing to help.
Sapa was the highlight of my stay in Vietnam, in spite of the weather. I wished we had an extra day. Encourage tourists to have a homestay which builds bridges between the natives and the tourists and help us understand your culture. The Victoria Express train and its hotel I thought were good value , even though it’s more expensive that other trains. In spite of the long walk, Co Cly markets were sensational and still authentic. I must telll you that I spent some time in the hills of Thailand , north of Chang Mai, some 25 year ago, in some ways very similar to the North West of Vietnam.
Tuan , our guide in Hanoi , Sapa and Halong Bay was extremely good, very knowledgeable, very good command of the French language , very caring and good organiser,to be highly recommended. He could have come with us all the way. On the other hand, given the differences and the subtle animosity between the North and the South, may be it’s better to have two different guides.
I could have stayed in Hoian a little longer, very charming and relaxing city and again a lot of handicrafts. Enjoyed Hue and its historical past. I wish you had suggested a detour to the Ba Ha national park.
I am glad I insisted on visiting Dalat and its minority, again very different from Sapa and worth the detour.
The Mekong Delta was absolutely fascinating and I wish you had suggested a homestay at the house we stayed for lunch , the Tuan Kiet traditional wooden house. It would have been much better that the Can Tho hotel. We may have had the time to cycle within the vicinity of this old house.
I thought that the choice of the restaurants in Hanoi and Sapa was good, a very good cross selection except for the one Mr Moscato mentioned.( restaurant d’application )
Very impressed by the Cha ca la Vong, Hightway 4, Wild Rice, (good although a little too modern cuisine for me, ) Apsara in Danang. Incidentally as Vietnam is a very popular destination from Australia.
Sorry for not having written to you any earlier but I caught up with my daughter in the vicinity of Brisbane
Cheers for now.
Catherine moscato
Australia
