I would like to try acupuncture too! I did it once in USA and loved it. So, since the question hasn't actually been answered yet, how much does it cost, and where is a good place to go for it?

As a narcissistic, childish, money-obsessed Western woman with bad breath and no personality, I take offense to this stereotyping.
Just jokin

Works for me,

Hey Ian.

I'm in.
I agree with Natsymir, Moondog's booming success as a bar makes it not an ideal venue for a poetry night, unless you wanted to do something super early on a weekday, before all the fooseball and such gets into full swing. You've mentioned As You Like as another option for a venue, which seems great to me: quiet, and never crowded. I think they have wifi too.

Another option could be halfway house, the whole place is set up around the stage, so it's harder for distracting ambient noise to dominate the place. Same with Memento, come to think of it.

If anyone's aware of a less-visited venue with a small stage and/or microphone, feel free to chime in.

I would like to see either a workshop or reading planned in a smaller/less popular venue, to see how many people would turn up just for that. Also, a less crowded venue would be a more comfortable environment for people to read publicly for the first time or share something they've created.

Just sayin.

Kasey

Best way is to take an overnight bus from the East bus station down to HeKou, then walk across the border to Lao Cai, then overnight train from there to Hanoi. I've done it, it's not bad. You might consider taking a minibus to Sapa (about 1.5 hours, 50,000 dong) for a day or two while you're in Lao Cai, it's touristy but extremely beautiful, small town with lovely rice terraces and oxen and Hmong minority villages and homestays and such. You can buy a bus ticket at the east bus station, and a train ticket at the Lao Cai train station with no difficulty.