Good Bye Hanoi

25 Mar...

Today is Auntie Leng’s birthday. Uncle Koh treated us a sumptuous lunch (beef steak and ‘po pian’) at a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant. After lunch, we went for last minute shopping at a local market. All of us manage to buy something, and we happily returned to Prince Café Hotel.

As it was still early, I wondered around Hanoi City on my own. I recalled what Darren said on the 1st day “If you want to cross the road, do not wait for the cars to stop. Just walk and the motorists would avoid you!’ He was absolutely right; In Hanoi, you really have to walk in faith.

Okay, that's all for my Hanoi trip. Hope you enjoy reading it.

How fortunate are we...

In Tavan village, many poor children give up their studies so that they can earn extra income to support their family by selling handicrafts, bangles to foreigners.

I met 2 pitiful Tavanese brothers (about 5-6 years old) at the village food store. Their dad had died and their mum was a hopeless opium addict. And these 2 poor boys have to survive on leftover food at the food store.

Although these children live a life of hardship and poverty, they remained cheerful, hopeful and contented. Sad to say, this kind of spirit is missing in many children in my own country.

Sapa Trekking

23 Mar...



The train left Hanoi station at 1030am and reached Lao Cai station at around 6am. I bided farewell to Zhao and his buddy and followed the driver to the minivan. After almost 2 hours of bumpy ride, I finally reached Mimosa Hotel in Sapa. Viet Hoai welcomed me and directed me to the kitchen for breakfast. At 1st look, I thought he was a tour guide, hahaa. In actual fact, he is the boss of the hotel.

Then Viet Hoai introduced Ms Chung to me. Chung was our tour guide for tavan village trekking. She is a young tour guide but she could already speak many languages, including Mandarin, French and English and of course Vietnamese. I also got to know a French couple (Benoit and Elaine) and a Singaporean couple (Uncle Koh and Auntie Leng).

Auntie Leng and Ms Chung

It was a tough journey which lasted 4 hours but I really enjoyed it. The weather was excellent, visibility was good, the air was refreshing and the scenery was beautiful.





After a long walk, we took a van ride from Tavan village to our hotel. I bidded farewell to Mr Koh and Auntie Leng as they were going back to Hanoi. Before they left, they reminded me a few times to look after myself and my belongings (Just like my parents). Auntie Leng also passed me her hotel name card and asked me to look for them when I arrive at Hanoi tomorrow.


In the evening, Ms Chung brought me to a few places and we went for tea. We chatted about many things, about work, living standards, lifestyle, culture and the people in our own country. It was really a fruitful exchange program.







Sapa Church

Last minute trip...

22 Mar...

I received a call from Hanh (AnPhuTour agency) soon after I reached my hotel. She informed that my Mai chau trip for the next 2 days was cancelled because of bad weather. And in return, she offered me a very good deal for 3 nights 2 days trip at Sapa. I was hesitant initially because I was not prepared for the long journey to Sapa. But thank God that I took it up.

When I was about to cross the road to grab a quick dinner, Hanh stopped me and offered to order dinner for me. It was because the locals have the tendency to up sell to foreigners. She ordered fried Pho (resembles Kway Teow) and beef set meal for just S$1.8 and they were really nice. After dinner, I rushed up my hotel, took a shower, packed my luggage, checked out the hotel and headed to the Hanoi train station.

I wasn’t feeling comfortable when I saw 2 Chinese men (dressed in black) in the cabin. But after talking to them, I found that i was just oversensitive. Zhao who is the ‘da ge’ or big brother initiated the conversation with me. We chatted about our experiences in Hanoi and also shared about happenings in our own countries. Zhao even offered to show me around his home town.

Here is an interesting joke from Zhao…
Name 4 things which are widely known for being slim in Vietnam (“Si Da Miao Tiao”)?
And the answers were the houses, the roads, the country map and the women. Heee

Tamcoc

22 Mar...

Tam Coc means three caves, which takes about two hours driving from Hanoi (110 km) to the South. A boat brought me through three caves on the river, all created by wind and water from a legend time, while the sea had occupied this area.



Some parts of the land have been converted into rice paddy fields. This place also provides an excellent environment for rearing ducks.


The rich and the poor

Hoalu

22 Mar...

Hoa Lu is the relics of the ancient capital Hoa Lu – the remains are the temples dedicated to King Dinh and King Le, the two heroes who lived in 10th century and chose Hoa Lu to build the citadel of the capital city.

Hanoi City Tour

21 Mar… Darren brought Lin and myself around Hanoi city and to many places for food and coffee.

Catba Island

20 Mar …

I spent a night on this peaceful and beautiful Catba Island.

Halong Bay

19 Mar 06...

We finally arrived at Haiphong Jetty after 3 hours minivan drive from Hanoi. We boarded an ancient looking ship which would sail us around Halong Bay. Lin and I went up to the deck of the ship. The visibility was poor because it was drizzling and the surrounding was misty. Then we had lunch with a local family on the ship. Not long after lunch, the mist cleared.
Lunch with a local family on the ship.

Halong Bay is 170 km away from Hanoi, with its picturesque blend of rock mountains and sea. It covers an area of over 1,500 km, dotted with thousands of rocky islands; it really is a natural sculpture on a gigantic scale.


Magnificent view of Halong.

The islands are riddled with innumerable caves.

Entrance to Bo Nuo Cave.

ChenXia and Mr Liang take lead.

Steep stairway to cave entrance.


Spectacular display of the stone formations.

Top view from cave entrance.

Humanitarian Center

19 Mar 06...

At 730am, the driver came to fetch me to Halong Bay and we stopped over at Humanitarian Center for a coffee break.

Embroidering a picture.

Handicrafts workshop and painting showroom.

Hello Hanoi

18 Mar 06...

After a 3 hours flight, we finally arrived at Noi Bai Airport. I headed straight to the waiting area. To my disappointment, no one was there to pick me. Luckily, I managed to find someone who was planning to go to my hotel (Hoalinh Hotel) so I paid him for a lift. I met Darren and Lin (both from SG) at the airport and we boarded the same car. When Darren and I arrived at Hoalinh hotel, the receptionist told us that our names were not in the booking list and all rooms were fully booked. Thank God for Darren, he could speak Vietnamese language pretty well. After a long negotiation with the receptionist in Vietnamese, we decided to move to Old Street Hotel. Darren engaged a motorcyclist to bring us to our new hotel. It was really “exciting” for 3 adults to travel on a small scooter under the rain along the chaotic and noisy Hanoi Street. It was an unforgettable experience!

After we checked in and unloaded our luggage, the motorcyclist brought us to a nearby roadside stall for dinner. The road lamps were dimly lighted, the floor was muddy because of the rain water and it was littered with tissue paper and many other things. The dining table was rather short and we had to sit on stools. I believed this was the kind of place where authentic local food was served and I hope that my stomach would be strong enough to take it. I had Pho Bo which means beef noodle soup. We also shared a roasted pigeon. Dinner was quite nice though.

Darren negotiates with the hotel receptionist.

Waiting for dinner to be served