In my first article, Pagodas, Temples and Rickshaws I mentioned that Hanoi, Vietnam is a great base to see some of the other sights of Vietnam.

One of those sights is the beautiful Halong Bay north of Hanoi. It is a three and a half hour drive away so we stayed overnight as we didn’t want to rush around and miss the opportunity to stop along the way, take in the picturesque country-side, quaint towns and of course do some shopping.

We ventured into Bat Trang, a ceramic village where most of the people that live in the village make an array of ceramic goods from traditional tea pots and ornaments, to modern vases and crockery.  I couldn’t help myself; I have a love of elephants so we now have two large ceramic elephants that we use as side tables when needed.  I digress… as a wannabe artist, to watch the people work away moulding and painting was inspiring.

Then we continued on to But Thap Pagoda, which is situated on the dike of the Duong River, Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province. The pagoda was built in the 17th century, during the late Le dynasty and its founder was the Chinese Buddhist Priest, Zhus Zhus, who died in 1644. There are 10 building on the pagoda land and the pagoda is very important to the local people in the province.

As we discovered, the Vietnamese people revere Guan Yin, Goddess of Compassion and Mercy. She had a special place in the But Thap Pagoda and she was gorgeous… the whole statue, including its pedestal, is 3.7m tall. Behind her there is a round back board, forming a circle 2.2 m in diameter. The circle has 14 layers of 789 arms with an eye in each palm. Forty-two more arms encircle the waist, making various mudras (gestures of the hands).

The next day we headed out to see some of the 2000 islands around the area and the natural caves of Dau Go and Trinh Nu. We spent 5 hours on the bay and enjoyed a fantastic seafood lunch.

Once we got to Halong Bay we freshened up, ventured out to look around the local market and have dinner at a local restaurant. As we expected, the food was fresh and delicious.

While out on the bay we stopped in at a Village with a difference… I had imagined a small village nestled into one of the many islands but instead all the local villagers live on the water in their floating homes (literally they are homes on the water; they are not living on boats). They even have a floating school which is funded by UNICEF. Many of the homes have dogs because they guard against anyone stealing the fish from their farm.

We also stopped at the Dau Go cave which is not only known for its beauty but also famed for its historical tie to the Vietnamese history.  The cave dates back to 1288 when a Vietnamese general, Tran Hung Dao fought against the Mongolian troops.  He used the cave to hide his force during the war.

The cave is huge and a natural wonder of Vietnam. While on the island, we climbed the 90 rocky steps to walk through the cave and admire its stalagmites, stalactites and water filled stone wells. To highlight the cave’s beauty there are coloured lights lit throughout. Our tour guide was able to point out different crystals, meanings and images of the shadows the cave displayed.
Later in the afternoon we headed back to Hanoi - we slept most of the way… being a tourist is tiring and it was better for the soul to sleep rather than watch the chaotic traffic on the trip back.

© Nicole Graham 2008

Nicole Graham is a success Coach, Facilitator and Online Entrepreneur.  Aside from managing her businesses, www.moderngoddessonline.com; www.moderngoddessgifts.com; www.moderngoddessmagazine.com, Nicole is an avid traveller and keen photographer.  All photographs shown in the article were taken by Nicole.

A little birdie told me that Beauty Banquet is going to be having its surprise bargains again this week and next.  At random times of the day a random item will be up for a ridiculously low price.  The trick will be to be there at the right time because once it is sold out it is finished until the next random bargain arrives.

Beauty Banquet stocks fashion and silver jewellery, body and bath products, gifts and style items.  Keep your eyes open!

The advertising rates are great and affordable for new and small businesses.

The new editions will be out shortly and include Baby Links, Eco Links and a General Directory A-Z.   The General Directory will be released in January and has a November 30 deadline.  The other directories will be released in May and have a deadline of March 30th.

If you have an online business in Australia you would be nuts to miss out on this opportunity.

Annette Piper has a lovely new website and I can’t help but visit to drool over her gorgeous, handcrafted gemstone jewellery.  Annette is a qualified gemmologist so she knows her gemstones thoroughly.  She is a gifted jewellery designer too and the site is full of some spectacular pieces.

What caught my eye this time was the perfect gift for Mum.  It is a pewter bookmark featuring teacups and pots.  Isn’t it cute?  It picks up on both my mothers loves - reading and a good cup of tea.

Visit Annette’s site and see some of her beautiful jewellery.

Care to join me?  There is sound so be ready for it!
Free Games

Free Games

Are you ready for the Santa Sleigh Chase?  It is coming up at the end of this month at Blue Zamboo.  This will be a fun event where participants earn points and win prizes.

The plan for the event is:

Day 1  - Find the baubles  – Follow the clues from bauble to bauble

Day 2  - Pimp my sleigh – Be creative and inventive!

Day 3  - Sponsor’s Event

Day 4  - Dress the Tree – another fun event.

Throughout the event the sponsors will have some great deals available only to you.  If you are interested (and why not get some Chrissy shopping done while having fun?) don’t forget to register over at Blue Zamboo.

There are four beautiful and delicately decorated soap cupcakes in a presentation box and they are available from Funky Soaps.  These are really pretty as well as useful.  I think they might just be what I am looking for.

Most of us are running around madly starting our Christmas shopping now that it is November.  With Club Zamboo you can shop online AND get discounts, bonuses or freebies.  Why would you go anywhere else? 

There are over 30 online stores who have gathered together to give these offers exclusively to members of Club Zamboo.  Yearly membership is only $19.95 PLUS you get a free gift on joining.  I can tell you that you will save many times more than that with these offers.

Our stores cover crafts, maternity, kids clothes, jewellery, accessories, gifts and much more. 

What’s included in your Club Zamboo membership?

• Free gift on joining
• Pre-release offers on new & exciting products
• 12 months exclusive access to Club Zamboo Member deals
• Fortnightly Club Zamboo news direct to your Inbox
• Sneak preview of the latest products before they arrive in store
• Virtual Shopping Tours “Exclusive” Member Prize Draw Entry
• Bi-monthly copy of “Cherry” E Magazine

I’M PRETTY WELL CONNECTED
(a Web 2.0 poem)
By
Gregory K.

I’m pretty well connected:
Facebook’s got my face.
I AIM and blog.
Of course I vlog.
Come see me at MySpace.

I Flickr, and I Twitter.
I wiki and Squidoo!
I’m Live. I Ning.
I’m there on Xing.
I’m really LinkedIn, too.

I Hulu, Yelp, and Google.
My YouTube channel’s hot.
I share Goodreads,
Have many feeds,
And Digg and link a lot.

Second Life and Classmates?
Xanga? RateItAll?
I’m on those four
And dozens more
Plus some I can’t recall.

I’m pretty well connected:
My friends are EVERYWHERE.
I bet I’d meet
Them on the street…
If I’d just leave my chair.