Around Hanoi

Harvesting the rice

Rice harvest season also means back burning so hazy skies and the smell of smoke in the air. These pictures were taken by Greg on his way to one of the district hospitals near our place.

Trung Thu - Mid Autumn Festival

Last weekend was the mid-autumn festival in Vietnam. It is celebrated under various names in Vietnam, China and Korea. In Hanoi, it is mainly a children's festival, with the streets packed with people, markets, toys, lanterns and rice flour dragons! We had dinner with some Vietnamese friends of ours who live right in the middle of the Old Quarter - nem rang (home made spring rolls - my favourite!)We also ate moon cakes - a speciality of this time of year. They taste a little like christmas mince pies and fruitcake but without the cake part (so really like glace fruit) and lotus. Here are some home made ones.

6 years on...still fabulous

Around Beijing

Here are some other random photos from our trip to Beijing. The Temple of Heaven (above) and the Summer Palace (below) had beautiful parklands and interesting architecture, including a marble boat built by one of the Empress Dowagers (like the Queen Mum) instead of giving money to the navy.
We had an excellent food market right outside our hotel, which provided cheap and delicious dinners on the run. Not to sure about the starfish or bee cocoons!
The end of a fabulous holiday.