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I've learned to tolerate Ha Noi - for perhaps 1 week at a time at least.......

Lol. I lived in Hanoi for 13 months. I'll be headed back to Vietnam in 8 weeks(if everything goes as planned). I want to see more of the country this time. I'll look up the places you mentioned. Any other spots you recommend me checking out I'm all ears.

Sure - no problem at all. There are a few places in the far north (close to the Chinese border). I'll look up the names as I can't recall them off-hand. Close to Ha Noi - Tam Dao (near Tai Nguyen) is worth checking out.

Yeah @soma909 . I went to Hà Giang and drove around in the mountains northeast of there and around Sapa a bit.

Here's one from the HCM Rd - West of Da Nang.