Travelfish #364: A great hotel in Hanoi

Everywhere is on the way to somewhere Hi everyone, This week I share with you my new favourite hotel in Hanoi—if you’re headed to the Vietnamese capital, it is well worth consideration—even if the name has about 82 syllables . [Emerald rice fields fill many of the valleys. Photo: Stuart McDonald] Emerald rice fields fill many of the valleys. Photo: Stuart McDonald New on the site, the Northwest Vietnam coverage is creeping on, with updates to Son La, Sin Ho, [Muong Lay]( and [Lai Chau]( all online. The better known spots will follow this week. This week I’m also back on the road with a quick trip through peninsular Malaysia and Singapore before rushing back for the [Ubud Writers and Readers Festival](ubudwritersfestival.com/?utm_source=Travelfish&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=2018). Busy busy! If you’re heading to Thailand for the first time, you may enjoy another newsletter we have called “Welcome to Thailand”. It starts with a series of daily emails, each covering an introductory aspect of Thailand. Then it switches to a weekly (Tuesday) instalment, each recommending a destination or attraction in Thailand that you may not have heard of. The newsletter is very much aimed at people new to Thailand, so if that is you, you can sign up here. All subscribers also get a complimentary PDF itinerary for Southern Thailand. [Sign up here](. Good travels, Stuart, Sam and the Travelfish crew Support Travelfish! If you'd like to chip in (if you haven’t already) for using the site, we'd love you to sign up for a year-long subscription for just A$35. [See more here](. Itinerary A great little hotel in Hanoi Rolling into Hanoi a few weeks ago after a 1,800 km motorbike trip through the northwest and all I wanted to do was get off the bike and put my feet up. Oh and eat. And drink. And Shop. I found myself, purely by good fortune at Centraltique on Hang Bo Street in the Old Quarter and it is my new favourite place to stay in Hanoi. Centraltique, well actually “Centraltique - Bespoke French Colonial House Near Hoan Kiem Lake” to be accurate, yeah I have no idea what they were thinking with that name either. I’m just going to go with Centraltique. Regardless of the name, the place ticked so many boxes. Family-owned, the very friendly manager told me the original building is over 100 years old. When the decision to renovate it was made, they made as much effort as they could to retain the old bones of the place. The polished winding stairwell with its lovely carved banister is but one example. But the real treat was the room itself. I had a studio room with balcony. From memory on the third floor, my balcony overlooked Hang Bo Street in the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The balcony wasn’t huge, but was big enough for me to put a chair on it among all the potted plants and relax as the sun set and the street came to life beneath me. The room was large, with a real comfortable bed (especially after the wooden planks that passed as beds in the Northwest!) with great linen and plenty of pillows. All the standard mod cons were there—WiFi, flat screen TV a fridge and so on. The bathroom, with a hot water shower, was immaculate. And despite the room overhanging a busy Hanoi street, I slept well—the racket was far from overbearing. But there’s more! The ground floor had a small cafe and the above-mentioned manager busied himself answering my shopping queries—though even he drew a blank with knowing where to get kids’ socks with Vietnamese flags on them! Aside from that though, he was as helpful as I could have asked for. So many cities are filling up with charmless though functional mini-hotels—dime a dozen, interchangeable, and more often than not, forgettable—so it was a breath of fresh air to find this family run place overflowing with character, where every possible effort had been made to make a place that you really will want to return to—I know I do! And best of all, the price. I paid US$21 for the room—in my book an absolute bargain. They also have larger rooms around the $50-70 mark which would be ideal for families, but for single travellers and couples, a studio should be just about perfect. So if you’re Hanoi-bound and want something small but comfortable without paying the earth, consider Centraltique. Reservations in advance are essential. They’re listed on both [Agoda]( and [Booking]( and most other online travel agents, or contact them direct via WhatsApp on +84 977 456 158. Safe travels Stuart Premium members only: Book a round the world with [roundtheworldflights.com]( (must travel from the UK via Asia, Australia, New Zealand AND the Americas) and get £30pp off your trip. Offer valid for departures to December 2019. Log in to the Member Centre on Travelfish now for your coupon code and [start designing your own round the world trip »]( Ten things worth reading The king ate sticky rice: Cooking, past and present, in Luang Prabang, Laos “[I wanted a link to this world]( and so I went back to Luang Prabang to seek out one of the few remaining people to have been directly involved in it: Chanthanom Chaleunsinh, the daughter of Phia Sing.” Off the rails: Hanoi closes trackside cafes thronged by selfie-seeking tourists “In Hanoi, the line brushes the rear of houses and shops [as it snakes through the city's dense centre](. Vendors stroll on the tracks, selling snacks on skewers, while some visitors sit on the railway lines and soak in the vibe.” Clay Pots Everywhere Quenched Myanmar’s Thirst, Until They Vanished “The declining presence of the shared pots over the last few years is [just one small change amid great upheaval in Yangon]( Memories from a Changed Camp “Plantungan is an area known for its hot springs, and the sound of gurgling water forms the soundtrack in the area that [was once a camp for female political prisoners](. It’s hard to imagine that such a peaceful place would trigger memories that its inhabitants would much rather forget.” Saving Aru: The epic battle to save the islands that inspired the theory of evolution “Jacky was wary. He knew how fraught things could get for indigenous groups who resisted government-backed projects. On his home island of Haruku, a short boat ride from Ambon, [his own community had fractured]( when a mining firm tried to gain a foothold. ” Luang Cave to reopen as a tourist attraction in November “All 370 pieces of equipment that were used during the rescue operation and left inside the caverns have been retrieved, and chief of national park department Thanya Netithammakun said [some would be put on display once the cave reopens]( “Playing for beauty and playing to fight”: Myanmar's martial arts “Thaing fighters can use their head, fists, arms, hands, elbows, knees, shins, thighs and feet, which is why it is also known as the “martial art of the nine limbs”. [Though this implies a brutal spectacle]( dance and theatre techniques were adapted for use in thaing movements during the Kongbaung era, which enhanced the graceful quality of the fighting.” “No photo is worth your life”: What would you do for the perfect holiday snap? “When The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age visited the site - which is 30 minutes by boat from Sanur beach and another 30 minutes on a motorcycle - [about 150 tourists passed through in two hours]( with some walking right up to the edge of the rocky cliff face.” ‘Our River Was Like a God’: How Dams and China’s Might Imperil the Mekong “To make way for the dams, Lat Thahae and dozens more villages are being demolished. A Lat Thahae resident who goes by one name, See, said she was not satisfied with the offer from Sinohydro Corporation, China’s largest builder of dams overseas, to build her a bamboo shack miles away [in return for destroying her spacious riverside home]( Garbage piles up in tourist hotspot Hoi An “The Cam Ha landfill in Hoi An, a town on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved centuries old houses and streets, [is currently holding 70,000 tons of trash]( with no signs that it will be treated any time soon.” Something to read Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars [is the extraordinary part-life story]( of author Andrew X. Pham’s Vietnamese father, Thong Van Pham. Travel shot [The water at Thac Tac Tinh falls is as cold as it looks. Photo: Stuart McDonald] The water at Thac Tac Tinh falls is as cold as it looks. Photo: Stuart McDonald Till next time [Sam and Stuart.] That’s it from us for now. As usual, enjoy the site’s new additions and drop us a line if there’s something in particular you’d like us to cover in Southeast Asia. Travel light! Stuart, Sam & the Travelfish team [( You're receiving the Travelfish newsletter because you signed up at Travelfish.org. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe Instantly](. Make sure you're getting our emails! If you're a Gmail user and would prefer your Travelfish newsletter in your Primary in-box rather than Promotions, just drag this email from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab, and click "yes" when it asks if you want to do that for all of our emails. Better still, [read this newsletter online.]( [Disclosure]( | [Privacy]( | [Unsubscribe]( We want travellers to love Southeast Asia as much as we do. 9 robinson close, hornsby heights, nsw 2077, AUSTRALIA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](