The Sony system of digital single-lens reflex (SLR) bodies and lenses, built on the bones of the discontinued Konica/Minolta SLR system, is ideal for photographers with a cabinet full of Minolta-mount autofocus lenses. This article gives an overview of the Sony system: camera bodies, lenses, flashes, and accessories, and concludes with some starter system recommendations.
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Hanoi is the current capital of Vietnam, and was the capital of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Hanoi is considered a communist strong hold, yet as noted in our "Traveling Vietnam" discussion, these communists support free markets, and are therefore closer to European socialists than traditional communists, although as of 2002, they only allow 1 political party.
The "Old Quarter" section of Hanoi is the recommended spot to set up a base camp. It is several blocks from the Hoan Kiem Lake, which marks the center of town. US Senator John McCain landed in this lake when shot down during the Vietnam War. His parachute opened late, he suffered injuries upon impact, and to make things worse, some taxis drivers beat him up after dragging him from the lake since they were mad about US bombing of their utility infrastructure. What would you have done?
Where We Stayed
Van Xuan Hotel - There are many good hotels in the Old City section of Hanoi. The Van Xuan offers AC and hot water for $15/double, is a little run down, yet is fine for the price.
Where we Ate
The Tamarind Cafe (at 80 Ma May Rd, 20m South of Luong Ngoc Rd) is a terrific American / Asian food restaurant with $4 dinners. They open at 6am and are known for their great breakfasts (e.g. French toast with bananas, fruit smoothies made to order) and their terrific dinners. This spot is run by 2 French women who have an eye for design and a penchant for quality. You would not be disappointed here, other than the premium paid for the additional quality.
What We Did
The Water Puppet Theater, located at the North side of Hoan Kiem Lake, features a world famous puppet show.
Walking around the Hoan Kiem lake is relaxing way to see the town.
Personal Reflections
Amanda: I loved Hanoi!! .We stayed in the "Old Quarter" section of town and it was friendly and cool (temp-wise and hip-wise), with lots of terrific restaurants. One night we went to the Water Puppet Theatre and saw the famous water puppets - (I had wanted to see them since I watched that first video on Vietnam!) - they were absolutely delightful. Not trying to sound cheesy, but that is really the word for them - I was filled with what I can only call delight - like a little kid - my eyes were wide and I had a big smile on my face the whole time, except in the suspenseful moments, when, say, a fisherman was pulled off his boat by a huge magical fish, and then I was on the edge of my seat. There was (live) traditional music accompanying the performance too. It was (as the Brits love to say) just brilliant.
The hotel we stayed at was very friendly - when we arrived the guy ran out and shook my hand and the woman gave me a huge hug. This incredibly warm welcome was sort of surprising because I had read in the LP guidebook that the people in the North are "more reserved" than the people in the South.
One day we walked into an art gallery. There were modern Vietnamese painters' works in there and they were wonderful. We tend to think of Vietnam as 'third world', but they have an incredibly developed culture, with art, music, literature, and theater. Really fine stuff.
Glenn: Our hotel was owned by the gov't and is therefore obligated to buy from other gov't run shops at low prices. An example of where this leads to problems is shown to the right. This toilet paper holder uses two vertical plastic side supports with close to no strength, and a springy plastic inner roller that lost its ability to spring back long ago. If an engineer designed this in the USA, he would be fired. If a company in the USA manufactured this, no one would buy it, and the company would be the laughing stock of their industry. Also shown is a 50% oversized step at the top of this stairwell which is hazardous if one is not paying attention. Since many suppliers are subsidized by the gov't, they are in affect monopolies, and can therefore deliver horrible quality with few repercussions. In a non-monopoly scenario, if a supplier is bad, buyers go elsewhere, forcing suppliers to get their act together. In the case of this step, there may have been one gov't building manufacturer that cuts corners, sometimes literally, to make buildings Quickly (i.e. they are judged by the number of buildings they build per sum of money, as opposed to Quality, which is more difficult to quantify).
