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Each time tourists visit Tay Bac (the northwest), they have different emotions. This is shared by many people who joined tours to explore Tay Bac’s hamlets and well-known tourist sites in the eight provinces of Lao Cai, Son La, Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Hoa Binh.

Our team participated in a tour to discover “the Tay Bac route” during sunny and cool days in August. The starting point of our trip was in Hoa Binh Province. We visited the Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Plant, Lac Ham

Shedonism is coming up hot and fast in Las Vegas, Nev. Sept. 5 – 9. 

Girl Roamers, do you want to get your Sin City on? You can. We’ve got 2 VIP Passes to Shedonism, Sept. 5 – 9 in Las Vegas, Nev. just for you.

Enter to win by Aug. 29 at 11:59 p.m. by sending us your:

• Full Name
• Phone Number
• Email Address 

to contest@girlsthatroam.com 

with “Shedonism” in the subject

Winners will be announced on Friday, Aug. 30 at 12 p.m.

Get the latest Shedonism updates at Girls That Roam. Sign up free to receive o

Whale sharks are sharks the size of whales, but unlike other sharks, they are not the least bit scary.  Even so, swimming with creatures as large as 60-feet is an adrenalin experience, as I found out on a recent whale shark tour in the Gulf of Mexico near Cancun.

Whale sharks are annual visitors to the area around the Maya Riviera, esspecially around and the islands of Isla Mujeres, Holbox and Contoy, between May and September. Their presence is celebrated with daily whale shark tours, and celebr

I remember the first time I caught a needlefish. Its electric blue teeth and skeleton (seen upon filleting) were a shocking surprise. The needlefish is tricky to catch given its long, narrow jaws filled with needle-sharp teeth (hence, its name) that usually cut fishing line like dental floss. Once you have one, though, they are really tasty – especially fried in olive oil and garlic for a finger snack!

I caught my first needlefish, my first blackfin tuna, and my first red snapper all in the placi

by Heather Cassell

Broadway star and Tony-nominated actor and singer Andrea McArdle fell in love with music in her family’s Philadelphia home. She would tune her parent’s two stereos to her favorite stations and sing-a-long to the decade’s greatest hits.

“We were somewhat music freaks, very eclectic taste. That’s what really gave me my love of music,” recalls Andrea, whose family didn’t have a television until she was 7-years old.

Nearly 40 years later, Andrea is paying tribute to the music that sh

by Heather Cassell

Tony nominated Andrea McArdle greets a full house at Feinstein’s at the Nikko Hotel with an energetic song as she makes her way to the stage and belts out “Native New Yorker” to a lively audience.

Throughout the night audience members at burst into song along with Andrea who at 49 years old is spunky as ever and upbeat. She enjoys performing along with her music director Steve Marzullo as much as the audience enjoys seeing her and listening to her stories in between songs from h

by Heather Cassell

Food bloggers and foodies followed Bravo TV’s Top Chef alum out lesbian chef Preeti Mistry like she was the ungettable catch for years. They followed her pop up restaurant that showed up in San Francisco neighborhoods like SoMa and the Mission and checked in regularly about the restaurant’s official opening.

To their delight, they got their wish March 1, when Juhu Beach Club (5179 Telegraph Ave., 510-652-7350, info@juhubeachclub.com, JuhuBeachClub.com) opened in Oakland’s Temesc

I remember the first time I caught a needlefish. Its electric blue teeth and skeleton (seen upon filleting) were a shocking surprise. The needlefish is tricky to catch given its long, narrow jaws filled with needle-sharp teeth (hence, its name) that usually cut fishing line like dental floss. Once you have one, though, they are really tasty – especially fried in olive oil and garlic for a finger snack!

I caught my first needlefish, my first blackfin tuna, and my first red snapper all in the placi

by Heather Cassell

In search of a great cup of coffee, Bree Dezort and Cali Kamala got tired of having to leave their home in the Diamond District just for their caffeine fix, so the couple dreamed up the Hive Cafe.

“This is our neighborhood, but there wasn’t anything that was good quality coffee so we always left,” says Bree, 32, whose fiancé Cali, has lived five minutes from the café for more than three years with her son.

About two years ago soon after the couple got together, Bree and her daugh

With the Champions Tour in Calgary this week, it's time to think golf in Western Canada.

Canadian Rockies Golf (www.canadianrockiesgolf.net) – the collection of elite mountain golf courses in Banff, Jasper and Canmore – prepares for fall with end-of-season vacation offers and events.

The Fall Golf Getaway package includes one round at Canmore Golf & Curling Club and two nights at Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, starting at $309 per person. Golf at nearby Stewart Creek Golf & Country Club, Silvertip Res

by Heather Cassell

It was all about good times and picking up easy work for Caitlin Laman until she landed in San Francisco four years ago.

Now the 29-year-old is one of the city’s coolest mixologist at one of the city’s newest and hottest bars, Trick Dog (3010 20th St., 415-471-2999) in the trendy Mission District.

In her spare time, she’s giving Napa a little shake and stir as the consultant for the not-yet-year-old Andaz Napa’s (1450 First St., 707-687-1234) bars: Mercantile Social and Terrace B

by Heather Cassell and Super G

I wondered if I had actually crossed the border from the U.S. into Canada as I looked out the window of the Bolt Bus that transported me from Portland, Ore. to Vancouver, B.C. Was the check point, where they didn’t even stamp my passport, a figment of my imagination?

I very well could have been back home in San Francisco, just a bit greener and smaller. I was often told by Vancouverites visiting San Francisco that our cities closely resembled each other, but when I a

by Heather Cassell

Life has been a party for Leigh Cousins and Mandy Randhawa promoters of award-winning FlyGirl Productions, a queer women’s party company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

FlyGirl Productions’ monthly parties and all-girl festivities during Vancouver Pride have been a sellout affair for thirteen years, they say.

Next weekend, the girls are taking their party on the road to Calgary, Alberta, where they are throwing their first Hershe Day Club post-Calgary Pride party.

“It’s kind of ex

fiveTEN Oakland Events is Ready to Set It Off for Oakland Pride Weekend

(San Francisco, Calif. – August 21, 2013) fiveTEN Oakland Events is ready rock and roll during Oakland Pride Weekend, Aug. 30 – Sept. 2, 2013.

Double Duchess and the Memorials headline fiveTEN Oakland Pride Weekend 2013 packed with live performances by Lila Rose, Aima the Dreamer, Raw G., Micah Tron, Billie Jr., Queens D. Light, and Zakiya Harris and Soul Nubian.

DJs FFLood, Fusion, HeyLove, Lady Fingaz, Lady Ryan, Leydis, M

EDEN Pride Events Proudly Announces

EDEN Pacific Northwest

(San Francisco, Calif. – July 10, 2013) EDEN Pride Events, PQ Monthly, and The Seattle Lesbian is proud to announce a new partnership and women’s weekend: EDEN Pacific Northwest.

EDEN Pacific Northwest is a new four-day women’s weekend filled with live female musical performances, nationally renowned female comedians and artists, and world-class female DJs in Seaside, Ore. on October 3 – 6, 2013.

“Let’s rock the beach and enjoy being toget

You have never been to Hanoi? Please do hesitate to visit our nice city as everything is quite easy. Hanoi Imperial Hotel would like to give  you some travel tips  below and hope they are useful for your trip

1. Visa

It’s the best if you get it sorted before you leave, through your local embassy or travel agent. You can also pre-arrange a visa on arrival online but you run the risk of waiting up to 90 minutes in Hanoi airport while the visa officers decide whose turn it is to do some work.

2. Taxis

Fall is considered the most beautiful and romantic time for travellers to visit Hanoi.
The walkers doing early morning rounds of Hoan Kiem Lake can feel the approach of the much-talked autumn in the capital. They see the water surface of Sword Lake is like a mirror - so calm before the breeze starts.

A lot of locals and expatriates jog for their morning exercise before work or stroll around to admire the lake - and old trees and willows that are reflected in it.
Another crowd prefer sitting on the